The Little Mind Reader
by Cloclo2388
Summary: Ash has a gift that makes him.. different from most others. Despite all the good it can do, it can also lead to hardships in a harsh, narrow-minded world. Watch as Ash starts his journey to find a place he will truly be accepted and grow stronger. Inspired by the anime 'Kotoura-san'. Smart/Psychic Ash.
1. Chapter 1: Start of A New Life

**New Story, yay!**

 **In this one, as said before, Ash will have a very special gift, the gift of ESP, or telepathy.**

 **It's a work in progress in my head so please be patient. This is based off an anime I saw a while back.**

 **Anyways, let's get started**

\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\

It was a special day in pallet town, one that many 10 year olds look forward to every year.

It was the day that a new group of trainers would be ushered into the world, ready to start their life-long journeys to find themselves and become great.

For some residents of Pallet Town, it was a special day for another reason, because it was the day that he was leaving. Finally, the small town would be rid of that freak, Ash Ketchum.

The boy in question stood with three other trainers outside of Professor Oak's lab, waiting for when the time came to receive their starters and official trainer IDs.

Ash was a quiet, somewhat short ten-year old with short, unruly black hair. He was wearing a blue and white jacket over his black shirt, along with a pair of blue jeans and a red and white League hat, all that he had left of his former family.

While most of the gathered crowd cheered and congratulated the future trainers, some were whispering negative comments amongst themselves about the boy that had been deemed a freak by the town.

Why was Ash treated this way? Because he was different. Because he had a ..'gift' that made him drastically different from everyone else. And in a small town, new and different ideas were rarely accepted, especially if they upset everyday life.

As Ash and the other trainers waiting, the depressed boy adjusted his cap to cover his eyes as he took a trip down memory lane. Needless to say, he would not miss this town...

\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\Flashback, 7 years ago and up/-/-/-/-/-/

Ash knew he was different almost from the get go, when he was in Pre-school and he noticed something odd. He could hear his classmates talking even though they weren't working their mouths. When he asked them how they did that, they all just looked at him weird and moved away from him. When he asked the teachers, they glared at him and told him to stop messing around.

Not, getting any answers at school, young Ash asked his parents.

"Mommy?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Sumting weerd happen at school today.." He said in a three-year-old's dialect.

'Oh Arceus, what did he do now?' Delia thought as she looked at him, "what honey?"

However, Ash, hearing that thought somehow, backed up and waved his arms around, "I- I di'n't do anyting a swear!"

Delia blinked in confusion at his actions, 'What in the world?' She kneeled down to him, "honey, I didn't say you did anything.."

However, the three-year old wasn't convinced, "Yes you did, but your mouth di-'n't move when you said it.. how do you do dat? can you teach me how?" he said with sudden excitement

Upon hearing that, Delia froze.. speaking without her mouth moving? It seemed like Ash had reacted to her thoughts, but... that was impossible, right?

"Honey.." she said as she grabbed his hand gently, "tell me what you hear.."

'We're having homemade pizza for dinner'

As soon as the thought was done, Ash's eyes got as wide as dinner plates and he had a happy smile on his face, "Homade Pizza?! YAY! my favrite!"

He didn't even notice that Delia had frozen in shock. her son... her little boy.. could actually read minds? and thoughts?

Unsure of what to do, the mother waited until her husband Matthew came home from work. As soon as he was home, she told him what happened.

"What?!" he yelled, not believing her, "stop saying such lies Delia! That's impossible!"

"Then how do you explain him knowing exactly what I was thinking?" she refuted

Matthew just snorted, "knowing you, you probably had some of the ingredients out already, and the boy made a lucky guess. Ash is a smart kid, if not a little flighty. But there's no way in hell he's able to read someone's mind."

Delia just crossed her arms, "fine! Then why don't you go talk to him if you're so sure. Have one conversation with him" the woman insisted, causing her husband to groan, "fine.. the perfect way to spend time with my son I guess.." he said as he went upstairs towards Ash's room.

Matthew was a handsome man, with black hair like Ash's, and stormy grey eyes. He was a usually kind man, and a doting husband and father, but he wasn't perfect. Matthew was a perfectionist and didn't like to be wrong. He also had a very short temper. One of the things he wanted most was a perfect family, and he got that in Delia and Ash.. or had he..

As he got to his son's room, he saw Ash coloring in a book on his bed. Upon hearing the door open, Ash turned his head and smiled brightly, "Daddy!" he said as he jumped off the bed and gave the man a hug. Matthew could only chuckle at his son's enthusiasm, before he knelt down on one knee in front of him. "How was school, son?"

"It was fun!" Ash said, "I think a found a new trick!" he exclaimed excitedly

As the boy went on about school, Matthew thought to himself, 'I need to test this out somehow.. I don't see why I'm even bothering, I already know it's not possible..'

He stopped his thoughts short when he saw Ash looking at him strangely.

Then the boy asked, "tesht what out, Daddy? And what's not poshi..poshible?" Ash stuttered out, not used to saying the word.

Matthew's heart stopped as Ash said that.. His eye constricted in shock, causing his son to step back in fright, "...Daddy?"

Matthew blinked himself out of his shock and stared at his son incredulously, 'can you hear this?'

Ash smiled and nodded his head, "that's cool! You can do it too! Can you teach me to talk without moving my mouth?"

Hearing this, Matthew let out a groan. It was amazing yet scary at the same time. His son.. could read minds? This was getting complicated.

\\-\\-\\-\\-\fast Forward 3 years-Age 6/-/-/-/-/

After his parents explained to him about his gift, and that he couldn't tell anyone or let it slip what he could do. If someone did find out, there would be a lot of trouble.

Ash constantly kept this in mind as he tried to keep his 'gift' under control. There was one problem though... He couldn't

Try as he might, Ash couldn't stop his mind from reading people's surface thought. All he had to do was look at them. If he concentrated, he could go much deeper to see their inner most thoughts and feelings, but that rarely happened. it gave him frequent headaches, especially in large crowds.

School was a bit of a hassle. In order to keep himself from slipping up, he decided to just keep his mouth shut until he got it under control. This quickly earned him the name the quiet kid, or the mute. The only time he would really speak was when spoken to, or to answer a question in class.

Kids can be cruel, no matter where you go. To bullies, Ash was an easy target. A quiet nerd tht had to take medicine whenever he got a bad headache. In other words, a wimp. This led to his lunch money getting taken on more than one occasion.

Ash was fine with being the weird, quiet kid in class though. It was much better than if they found out about his secret. Then, there was no telling what would happen..

He did have one friend though. His name was Gary Oak, the grandson of a Professor in town.

For some reason, the auburn-haired boy always liked to talk with him and hang around him more than anyone else, whether it was to just talk, or gloat, or even make light fun of him.

Ash didn't mind though, for he could sense Gary's inner thoughts and feelings. He was actually very self-conscious and needed a confidence booster every now and then. Being the grandson of a famous Professor put a lot of pressure on someone, even at so young of an age. Even when Gary was making fun of him and being obnoxious, Ash could tell that he was just feeling lonely and wanted a friend, a real friend that didn't just hand around him for his status.

So yes, Ash would talk with Gary, and even pretend to get riled up at his jibes. It was all in good fun.

One day, Ash was walking home from school with his friend, who was tooting his own horn as usual, when something fluttered across his mind, making him stop in his tracks. Seeing this, Gary stopped as well, confused at his friend's behavior, "what's wrong Ashy boy? You gotta pee your pants or something?" he said with his usual sneer.

Ash just glared at him before looking ahead of them. Around the corner behind a house, he sensed several lines of negative thoughts. He recognized the signatures as some bullies from their school, at least three of them from one grade up. They were going to... uh oh.

"H-hey Gary, c-an we go to your house another way today?" he asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Huh? why?" The auburned boy asked, truly confused.

"W-Well.." Ash started, thinking of a half-truth, "it's such a nice day out today! And I bet if we run to the field right now, we can catch the Nidorans fighting for turf. What do you say?"

It was actually true, as this was the time of year when Nidoran and their evolutions fought for turf and mates. So there was little surprise when Gary bought it, "sure, we can go look, and it is a nice day"

So, they started running towards the fields..

"Hold it, you little shrimps!"

Both boys turned their head to see three boys from their school run from behind the house they were hiding, "where do you think you're going?! We got plans for you two. Especially you, Oak!" The leader yelled. The boys were slightly older than Ash and Gary were, around age 8. The leader was the largest and fattest, making it easy for him to push his weight around.

"Gary, run!" Ash yelled as he urged his friend towards the fields.

And they ran, and ran until their little legs could barely carry them. Luckily they had lost two of them in the long grass of the fields. The leader, however..

"There you are!" the older boy exclaimed as he burst from the grass, right in front of Ash and Gary who were resting.

"W-Why are you after me?!" Gary yelled as tears came to his eyes.

The bully just smirked, "cuz' loud mouth know-it-alls like you need to be shut up!" he said as he stepped forward..

..Only to get wacked in the face by a large stick, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Ash yelled defiantly as he held the stick out in front of him, while Gary looked on in slight awe.

The bully recovered in almost no time, and sneered at Ash, "fine! You'll go down first, nerd!" he said as he charged at Ash...only for the six-year old to dodge out of the way at the last minute. The bully righted himself and tried again, with the same result.

To the outside eye, Ash was just very agile with quick reflexes, but in reality the young boy was just using his gift in a new way. He could sense every move that the bully was about to make, giving him ample time to dodge and parry his attacks. In a way, he was using the pokemon move, Detect.

After the fifth failed punch attempt, the older boy backed off to catch his breath, and look at his tiny opponent. Ash didn't even look winded, and Gary still looked awestruck.

The boy growled, and was about to strike again, when he saw something that made his blood freeze over. Ash's eyes.. were glowing? It was the faintest hint of blue but it was still visible in the fading light of the day.

Next thing he knew, he had been punch in the face and sent to sprawling to the ground. When he looked up, he saw the quiet one standing over him, eyes blazing blue...he looked like a demon!

Seeing this, the boy backed up, visibly shaken, causing Ash and Gary to both look perplexed.

"H..His eyes.. they're glowin'.. he ain't human!"

The boys looked at each other in confusion as the bully continued to sputter and back away, "h-he ain't human! He ain't human!"

As he started to back away more, Ash couldn't help but wonder.. had his eyes been glowing? That had never happened before.. but this kid had to have seen something to act like this..

The bully then took that moment to get up and run away, screaming at the top of his lungs, "he ain't human! He a MONSTER!"

That word.. it made Ash's blood run cold.. him? ... A monster?

He was knocked from that train of thought when Gary placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a look of thanks and confusion, "come on, let's get out of here.."

Nodding in agreement, Ash followed his friend back to his house, surprised that his friend had no questions about what just happened.

\\-\\-\\-\Flash Forward 1 year-Age 7/-/-/-/-/

Since that day a year ago, things had gone downhill for young Ash.

The bully he had scared off had started spreading rumors around town, saying that Ash was a monster that tried to steal his brain, how his eyes lit up like a psychic pokemon's and tried to kill him.

At first, the rumors were just that, rumors, and no one bothered to think twice about him. However, over time, the initial rumors multiplied and became more elaborate. One said that Ash could steal your thoughts and replace them with his own, thus brainwashing you. Another, and probably the most damaging, said that just being around the boy would allow him to steal your mind.

At first, many of the rumors didn't stick. However, when the bully, the boy that was originally 'attacked' by Ash's so called powers, started getting therapy from a near nervous breakdown, people started truly wondering.

As a result, within a year, poor Ash had been almost completely ostracized at school. The other students would either run from him in fear, or throw things at him and call him a monster.

Monster...

That word haunted the poor 7-year old day and night. It made him wonder if he was truly everything they said he was.

The torment didn't end at school either..

At home, his parents had become very subdued. They barely talked to each other or him, and he had no idea why, though he wondered if it was his fault. Their thoughts brought no clue as well.

Their strange behavior started when he told them about what happened between him and the bully. Although he didn't mean to use his 'gift', it was an emergency. While his father wanted to punish him for the slip-up, his mother protested against it, which led to a huge fight between the two. Since then, things haven't been the same.

It only got worse when he told his mother about the bullying at school, and what people were saying about him. When she asked his father for help in the situation, the man only said that it was her problem to take care of since she was the mother, and the mother raises the child. In other words, he had washed his hands of him..

Right now, Ash was in his home watching the rain outside as he colored. He loved to color and do artwork, that was one of his only sanctuaries in the harshness of the world. That and playing with the Pokemon at the corral of course.

Lately, without even wanting to, he had been accidently peering into his parent's minds, reading their thoughts and feelings. Maybe it was just his 'gift' wanting to fix everything, he didn't know. But what he found was ..unsettling...

His father was having fantasies and thoughts about a woman that was not his mother... some blonde girl he met at work, and some of the fantasies were not something that a seven year old was supposed to see..

His mother.. no longer had the cheeriness that she once had. He knows that she wants to put him in a new school in Viridian, but they didn't have the money or the transportation for that. He also sensed that she was constantly worried, if not about him, then about her marriage falling apart and daddy leaving.

As Ash continued to color, he contemplated all of these thoughts in his head. What could he do to fix this? Not only did he feel like he was the main cause for all of this turmoil, but he was only 7 years old, and unable to really help. Maybe if he used the right words..

He got up from his seat on the floor and walked over to his father, who was sitting in a laziboy chair and reading the newspaper.

"Daddy?" Ash said in his meek voice

"Hmm?" the Matthew said, not looking from his newspaper.

"Yo-You're not leaving out tonight, are you?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. Still, the question caused the man to put down his newspaper and look at his son strangely. After seeing that he had his mother attention too, Ash placed a hand on his father's knee and continued, "Mommy's making Beef and veggie stew.. that's your favorite right?" he said, causing both adults to blink. Dinner hadn't even been started yet.

Delia just let out an exasperated sigh. She knew of her son's talent, and that he couldn't control it, and let things slide, "You never cease to amaze me hunny.." she said with a half-smile.

Matthew, however, looked furious. His 'son' had looked into his mind again! And if he saw that he was planning on leaving tonight, then that means he saw..

"Excuse us for a moment, Delia. I have some things to discuss with our boy.." he said quickly as he pulled the seven year old behind him into the next room.

It didn't take a mind-reader to see that Matthew was mad, but when Ash saw his thoughts and what he planned on doing, he freaked out, "no, NO! Let go of ME!"

Before Delia could protest, then door to the room was slammed shut and locked.

That done, Matthew slammed the boy up against the wall and looked at him with fury in his eyes, "What have I told you about using your freaky power on me!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Ash said as tears started to stream down his face, "I ...I wanted to make everything better.. I wanted mommy to be happy, and she's so sad when you leave and stay away all night.."

"The reason she's miserable is because of YOU, you little snit!" he said as he punched the wall right next to Ash's head, causing the boy to yelp and curl into a ball.

"Now..." Matthew said as he calmed down and straightened himself up, "consider yourself grateful that you didn't tell your mother everything you saw.."

It was at that point that the door busted open. Neither male had even noticed the loud banging and pushing on the door, until it finally broke.

In ran a frantic and crying Delia, whom had easily heard the banging and the screaming from outside, though she was unable to hear most of the conversation. She ran over to her still crying and shaking son and picked him up in her arms. After calming the poor boy down, she sent Matthew a deadly glare, "What is the meaning of this?! Why are you beating our son?!"

"I haven't laid a hand on him!" the so-called father refuted, "I was just reminding him of what happens when he uses his powers, even if it's on us. We have to protect each other, Delia"

"I do NOT need protection from my own son, Matthew!" she yelled in reply.

The man just sneered at her, "pfft, fine. You'll see what I mean eventually.." he then left the room and grabbed a coat, "I'm going out.. I may or may not be back tonight.."

After he was gone, Ash and Delia comforted each other, as neither wanted to believe what had just happened.

"Honey.." the worried mother whispered as she lifted up her son's head, "What happened? What did you see when you read his mind a moment ago.."

Ash just shook his head as he sniffled, "he.. he told me not to tell you.."

"Please honey.." she said with a light smile, "I need to know.. so we both can be happier.."

Taking his mother's word for it, Ash nodded and told her everything.

Needless to say, things only more chaotic after that..

\\-\\-\\-\Flashforward 2 years- Age 9/-/-/-/

After the particularly messy divorce between his parents, Ash thought that things would get better.. but he was sorely mistaken..

His mother eventually pulled him out of school when the bullying got too great, and began homeschooling him. it temporarily dampened the problem , and ash was able to be a normal kid for a little while. Unfortunately, this didn't last.

After his parents split, more rumors started to circulate, not just in school, but around town as well. Kids do talk to their parents after all.

As the rumors spread, they only intensified among the adult crowd. They talked about how Happy Delia and Ash seemed after the divorce, which was unusual. They talked about how all of their kids were afraid of one little boy that didn't even seem like he could defend himself, let alone attack anyone. How was that possible?

The main person spreading the rumors among the adults however, was the mother of the bully that had attacked Ash and Gary and originally started this mess. She was convinced that Ash was a monster of some type that was capable of raping people's thoughts and minds. How else could she explain what happened to her son. He still had nightmares!

Delia and the Professor tried their best to refute them and calm everyone down, but with little success.

After a while, poor Ash found that he couldn't walk down the street without at least one person giving him a glare or an evil eye. Delia fell into a deep depression, out of grief for not being able to help her son as well as her family falling apart. She would drink almost every night until she felt better or passed out. There had been many times where Ash had called Professor Oak in a panic after finding his mom on the floor.

The only place Ash found he could be himself and be happy was playing with the Pokemon at Oak's corral. He found that he could read the creatures' thoughts and communicate with them on another level, which was beyond cool to the 9-year old.

Sometimes, he would be joined by one of the only people who stuck by him, his friend Gary. The young Oak was forever grateful for what Ash did for him that day, and vowed to stick with the dark-haired boy no matter what.

Today was one of those days.

"What's it saying?" Gary asked as he and Ash were taking care of an injured pidgey. The little guy had gotten a bit too daring in its flying and took a tumble.

"It's saying that.. it can't wait to fly again.." Ash said as he fed the tiny bird, "it wants to show its brothers who the top flyer in the family is!" he said happily. He loved communicating with the pokemon. Maybe it was because they never judged him for his 'gift.' In fact, they thought it was pretty cool.

"You know Ash.." Gary started, "I bet if you left Pallet Town and went to a bigger city, you'd find people that are more accepting of you and what you can do"

"what do you mean?" Ash asked, slightly confused

"What I mean is, Pallet Town is a very small town filled with old fashioned, narrow minded people who don't like the idea of change or introducing something different, even if it's a good idea" Gary explained as he pet the Pidgey, "but if you left and went to a bigger city like Cerulean or Vermillion, they might be more accepting of your talents"

After thinking about his friends words for a moment, Ash nodded, "makes sense.."

"Hey, you know what?" the young Oak asked as he stood up, "I think Grandpa said.. that there was a lot of psychic pokemon and people with special abilities in Saffron city!"

"Saffron? Isn't that where the Marsh Badge is?" Ash asked, recalling his studies

"Mhm.." Gary answered, "they specialize in Psychic type pokemon. So you may find some answers there!"

It was then that Professor Oak came into the infirmary, with a grim look on his face.

Both boys turned towards the older man and frowned when they saw his face.

"Grandpa, what's the matter?" Gary asked, while Ash stayed silent.

The Professor just bent down and looked at the young dark-haired boy, "Ash.. how would you like to stay with us for a while.."

Ash merely stared at the Professor for a second, then looked down with tears welling up in his eyes, "She left me.."

Hearing this, Gary adapted a shocked look on his face, "..Gramps?"

The Professor sighed and looked at Ash again, who nodded solemnly before going into the next room. Oak then looked down at his grandson as tears started to form in his own eyes, "Ash's mother..has disappeared..." he said carefully, "All she left was a note, telling Ash that she was sorry.."

After that day, the world got much darker.

/-/-/-/-/Present\\-\\-\\-\\-\

But now, it all ended today. All of the hardships he had suffered since the age of 5 would end today. He was finally old enough to leave this hick town full of narrow minded idiots.

Beside him stood three other trainers to be..

First one was his only human friend, Gary Oak.

Second was a girl that he used to go to school with, but now appeared to be afraid of him, Leaf.

Third was a tough looking boy that helped start the hell that had been Ash's life for the past 5 years. The bully, whom they now knew was named Jake, had been given the OK to go on his journey by his doctor after a 2-year delay.

He just glared at the others, including Ash, though one could tell that there was a healthy dose of fear there.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the good ol' Professor made his appearance, "Ah, welcome new trainers! Please come in!

Once inside, the trainers were given the run down about how to start their journeys on the right foot. They were then each given a Pokedex to record their journeys and captures with. Then, they were led to a the Pokeball room, which had a table in the middle with six pokeballs on it.

"Two sets of starters," the Professor explained, "that way, everyone gets the one they want...unless you all want the same thing," he said jokingly, "So who wants to go first?"

"Let the freak go first!" Jake yelled out, "the sooner we're rid of him, the better!"

"Yea.." Leaf said meakly, not even looking up.

While the Professor had a deep frown on his face, Gary looked like he wanted to pummel the boy into the ground. Ash, however, just shrugged, "fine with me.." he said with a sigh. He had no qualms about getting his pokemon first.

He stepped up to the table and reached for a pokeball..

..only to stop and freeze for a moment, then bring his hand back.

"Hmm? Something wrong, Ash?" The Professor Asked worriedly.

The dark-haired boy didn't respond, but instead just turned his head towards a shelf that held multiple pokeballs in it. He sensed something.. was it.. a cry of despair? Anger? Someone who wanted out as much as he did?

Without thinking, Ash let his power guide him towards the particular pokeball that the cry came from. As he picked it up, he heard the Professor yell, "Careful, Ash! That pokemon is still very wild! I just caught it a week ago!"

Ash just continued to stare at the pokeball, then smiled a warm, gentle smile, which was as rare as a blue moon for him, "its fine, Professor, I'll take it." he said as he clipped the pokeball to his belt.

Seeing his resolve, the elderly man just sighed, "very well. I wish you luck with that one.."

Gary chose a Squirtle, Leaf chose a Bulbasaur, and Jake chose Charmander.

Afterwards, three of the trainers presented themselves to the endearing crowds of Pallet Towners. Ash just decided to stay inside. Obviously there would be no cheers for him anyway.

"So where will you go from here, Ash?" the Professor asked him as they waited for the crowd to disperse.

"Well, I first want to try and form a team of pokemon, then I'll try for the Indigo League."

The Professor nodded, "will you come back to Pallet Town?"

After looking out at the crowds, Ash quickly shook his head, "no.. I'll find a home somewhere else.. somewhere that I'll actually be accepted...maybe Saffron.."

Oak nodded, "yes..they actually have a school there for psychics. Your gift is a type of telepathy, so it may be the best thing for you."

Ash just nodded and looked at his new pokeball with a fond smile.

"I'm gonna head out the back way Professor.." He said as he looked up at the man who had been a surrogate father to him for the past few years. The professor smiled and nodded, "Understandable.. and please.." he said as he place a hand on the boy's shoulder, "keep in touch. Let me know how you're doing. Maybe Gary and I can come visit you once you've found a place to settle down."

Ash flashed one of his rare smiles and nodded, "Of course Professor. I'll never forget what you and Gary have done for me over the years.."

The old man nodded, and starred at the pokeball Ash was still holding, "and let me know if you have any trouble with that one. Like I said, it's still wild, and may be hard to control."

The young rookie nodded as he stared at the ball, 'I think we'll be able to come to an understanding, Professor. Don't worry"

With that, the young trainer gave the Professor a nod and headed out to the traveling roads via the back door of the Laboratory. As he walked away, Professor watched with a sad frown on his face, "Please stay safe, Ash.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It didn't take long for the young new trainer to make his way to Route 1, just outside of Pallet Town. As he walked, he couldn't help but smile as he watched all of the Pidgey flying and chirping. Sounded like they were looking for lunch.

"Lunch sounds good right about now.." Ash said to himself as he walked. It was nearing noon and the sun was reaching its peak, though it did look like it was going to rain later with how dark the clouds were at the edge of the sky.

As he spotted more pokemon scurrying about, Ash paused, stopping mid-step as he pulled out his own pokeball, his first pokemon. He hadn't even let it out yet..

"I think it's time we get to know each other," he said as he threw the pokeball in the air.

From the pokeball, in a flash of light, emerged a pokemon that the boy had only seen in books. It was a tan and brown pokemon with a fox-like head and a brown torso with shoulder pads. It had three digits on each hand and foot and a tail that was a little more than half the length of its body. its eyes appeared to be closed and it almost looked like it was sleeping.

Needless to say, Ash was in awe at the little pokemon in front of him, a huge smile breaking over his normally somber face, "Woah..."

"...Abra.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **And there it is! Chapter 1 of a whole new story!**

 **Let me know what you guys think, and if I should continue. Sorry if it's a little too dark and tragic.**

 **Just a little warning, I'm not sure how frequent I will be with updates. Still, if you all like the story enough, I'll do my best to get out more chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Red Headed Headaches

**Annd Chapter 2**

 **Let's see what our little mind reader thinks of his new pokemon. He'll also get his second Pokemon in this chapter as well. Bet you can't guess what it'll be..**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Ash could only stare in disbelief for a moment, before a huge smile took over his face.

An Abra...a rare and potentially powerful pokemon... as his first? Awesome!

It was then that the young trainer was taken by surprise again, when a young, and surprisingly female voice entered his head.

 _"Ahhhh!... finally I am out of that accursed ball!"_ said the voice as he watched Abra stretch out its lanky limbs and look around, _"Now where am I...?"_

That was when Abra's supposedly closed and slanted eyes landed on him _, "What's a child doing here, and why is he.. oh no.."_ The Abra placed its... or her from what Ash could guess.. paw on her forehead in a sort of facepalm.

 _"Don't tell me that old man ended up giving me to some newbie trainer.. why I oghtta.."_ She growled and shook her head, making Ash sweatdrop, _"Oh well.. Nothing a quick teleport away from can't fix-"_

"Wait! Don't go! You haven't even given me a chance yet!" Ash said frantically as he tried to stop the little psychic type.

 _"Hmm?"_ Abra said as she turned him with sleepy yet surprised eyes, _"hold on.. human, can you understand me?"_

After a quick sigh of relief, Ash nodded, "Yes i can, I can also read minds.." he admitted, only because she was a pokemon. The poor boy would never openly admit his gift to a human.

The little Abra stared at him for a moment, before letting out a snort _, "Alright.. say that you can read my mind and understand me. That alone, though remarkable, won't convince me to stay. Why should I give you a chance?"_

"Umm.. well.." Ash muttered as he thought a moment, "well..for starters, we're both looking for a way out," he said, causing her to tilt her head. Ash smiled sadly, "I've had a tough life.. And there is nothing I want more to get out of this place." he then looked to Abra, "And from what I could read, you're looking for a way out too, right?"

" _Yes, away from the old man that stuffed me in that pokeball for a whole week,"_ She grumbled and crossed her arms, _"your point?"_

"My point is, we can help each other," he said, watching her body language, "You help me get a team together so I can succeed at being a pokemon trainer, and I'll help you get to where you want to go. How does that sound?"

 _"I can get there by self without human help, thank you"_ she said curtly, making Ash frown.

"Ok, and where is that?"

 _"Hmm?"_

"Where are you trying to get to?"

" _Home, of course.."_ she said curtly, as if it were obvious

"Ok, and where is that?" Ash urged on

 _"Its..."_ Abra paused, It was then she realized. She really had no idea where her home was. When she tried to go through her memories, they were scattered. She remembered her meema, then men in black, then fire, then water, then being captured by the old man. It was then she realized.. she may not have a home to go back to.

Tears suddenly came to the little Abra's eyes. When she looked up at Ash, she was surprised to see that he had tears in his eyes as well, "you've been through a lot.. just like I have.."

Taking a chance, the young trainer reached out and gently picked up the little psychic before putting her into his lap, and giving her a small hug. Abra didn't move, too shock and sad from the revelation of her scattered past. Eventually, she realized where she was and looked up at her supposed trainer, who smiled down at her, "It's alright.." he said comforting, "I'm here.. I may not be your mother, but I'm here.."

Abra just nodded slowly, appreciating the comfort. She laid her head on his torso and sobbed, until she eventually fell asleep.

When Ash looked down and saw that his starter was asleep, he smiled. It didn't surprise him. Not only was that conversation draining, but Abra were known for sleeping 18 hours a day, as any Pokedex will tell you. Speaking of which..

 _ **Abra:**_ _The Psi Pokemon_

 _Abra needs to sleep for eighteen hours a day. If it doesn't, this Pokémon loses its ability to use telekinetic powers. If it is attacked, Abra escapes using Teleport while it is still sleeping._

 _This Abra is Female and knows the moves:_ _ **Teleport.**_

Ash nodded as he looked at his Pokedex. That was typical of an Abra. He then pushed a few more buttons.

 _Abra has a the ability:_ _ **Inner Focus**_

 _Abra has the egg move:_ _ **Fire Punch**_ _, which has not been unlocked_

The new trainer smiled and nodded. _IF_ they could get Fire Punch unlocked early, then that would be a huge boost for them. Another thing they could do was get Abra a TM move. They were expensive, but worth it.

Seeing that his new friend was still asleep, and would probably stay that way for a while, Ash held her in his arms as he stood back up. They needed to get going and continue on their journey, maybe even make some new friends.

With that mindset, Ash continued his trek along Route 1.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

About an hour and a half later, Ash And Abra had made their way to the Route 1 River. It was a well known place and was a common fishing spot.

As the young trainer approached the river's edge, he saw a young girl, about his age, fishing. She had orange hair, short that were waaay too short, and red suspenders over her yellow shirt. She looked to be concentrating pretty hard, so he decided not to bother her and go down stream.

As he left, he heard a female voice, 'good, last thing I need is some noob messing up my fishing spot'

Ash froze and turned to throw the girl a withering glare. Luckily she didn't see him, but it still pissed him off.

'What a bitch..' he thought to himself.

 _"I agree.."_ another voice that he recognized as Abra, said.

Slightly surprised, he looked down at the sleepy pokemon, with a smile, "so you're awake, eh?" he whispered.

 _"mhm,"_ she mumbled before looking at the water, _"You want to do some fishing?"_

"Yea I was thinking about it," he said, "I know you really can't battle with just teleport, but.."

 _"Maybe we'll get lucky,"_ she said, finishing his sentence.

Chuckling to himself, the young trainer set down his back pack and took out a folded Good Rod. Once it was ready, he threw his lure into the clear blue water.

The girl looked towards him, then snorted and glared at the water, 'great.. just great..'

Ash had to hold back another chuckle at that. It was kinda funny. When he looked to see where Abra went, he saw that she had already fallen back asleep next to his backpack, and smiled. It was a good idea, since there was no telling how long it would take to get a bite.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, and listening to the red headed girl's angry thoughts, Ash noticed that something had changed. The water wasn't as calm as before, it was almost churning.

 _"Something's coming.."_ Abra said as she popped up from her nap.

No sooner than she said that, Ash felt a strong tug on his line.

"I got a bite!" he yelled, drawing the attention of Abra and the girl.

As he reeled in the catch, he noticed that, although whatever it was, was moderately heavy, it wasn't putting up much of a fight. Had he hooked some river junk?

 _"No, it's alive.."_ Abra said as she answered his mental question, _"Just.. weakened..it has recently been in a fight."_

Ash nodded and reeled it in quicker. As the slightly struggling pokemon finally came to the surface, the first thing he noted was a large red gem.

As the young trainer fully pulled the exhausted water type onto the shore, he got a better look at it. It looked like a giant brown star, with a red gem in the middle surrounded by what appeared to be gold. Its body was littered with small cuts and bruises, and the gem appeared to be flickering.

"Woah, a Staryu.." Ash said in shock as he pulled out his pokedex, 'what's a Staryu doing in a river?'

 _ **Staryu:**_ _the Starshape Pokemon_

 _Even if its body is torn, it can regenerate as long as the glowing central core remains intact_

Ash nodded at the information and looked to Abra, "can you bring me my backpack please? I should have a potion in there that will help."

 _"sure thing"_ the little Psi Pokemon said as it waddled off.

During that moment, Ash gently rubbed over the Staryu's center gem and whispered, "Everything's gonna be alright, we'll get you healed up and better in no time."

In response to this, Staryu's gem seemed to blink faster. The young trainer wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he could only hope that it meant it was happy.

Within a few moment, Abra had waddled back over with her trainer's backpack in hand, " _here we are"_

"Thanks," Ash said as he pulled out a red and yellow spray bottle, "Strange.. I can't understand it or read its thoughts.." he said softly as he slowly sprayed the potion over Staryu's wounds, then turned to Abra, "can you?"

The little Psychic shook her head, _"The Staryu species have their own unique language that only they can understand. Once it evolves into a Starmie, it becomes part Psychic type, and thus easier to read."_

Accepting the answer, Ash nodded, then smiled, "you sure do know a lot," he said, causing Abra to just shrug, _"I've picked up a few things in my short life. And my species is born with an inbred intellect that only gets larger with evolution."_

Once again, Ash nodded. He had heard that Alakazam have an IQ of 1000, so it made sense what she was saying. He then turned his attention to the water type and frowned, "still, though.. I wonder how Staryu got into this state.. or better yet, how it even got here. Staryu swim in the sea, not in the river.."

Meanwhile, the girl was sending him heated glares for stealing her potential catch, and that it was a pokemon that she really wanted. Granted, she already had its evolved form, but she wanted a set. As she glared at him, her own rod began to pull.

"I got a bite!" the girl downstream screamed. Funny, he had forgotten she was there.

As the girl tugged and pulled on her line with seemingly all the strength she had, Ash and Abra watched with curious faces. It was then that the Psi Pokemon noticed something...large in the water, and jumped backwards from the river's edge, _"Umm.. Ash? I think it's best if we take evasive action!"_

The young trainer blinked, before deciding to take her word for it, and pulled out an empty pokeball. Although the potion had healed a majority of Staryu's wounds, the water type was still injured and weak, leaving only one option.

"Staryu, I'm going to capture you. You're still too hurt and tired to go back into the water, and it's not safe, ok?"

The Star-shaped pokemon seemed to turn its body towards the enlarged pokeball, before giving its own version of a nod. With the ok, the young mind reader tapped the ball onto the tired pokemon and watched as it was sucked in without a fight. And not a moment too soon..

*SPLASH!*

"GYYYYYAAAAARRRR!"

"WAAAAHHHHH!"

As the beast of a Gyarados emerged from the depths of the river, enraged that someone had dared to catch it with a simple fishing rod. Its presence made both trainers shake in fear.

Seeing as he only had two pokemon at the moment, with one injured, and the other only knowing teleport, Ash only had once choice, "RUN!"

With that thought in mind, the new trainer quickly grabbed his belongings along with Abra, and ran in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" the girl yelled out, "Aren't you going to help me?!"

Ash gave her a look that said 'are you kidding?' and shook his head, "I'm sorry! Staryu is hurt, and Abra only knows teleport! I'm gettin' outta here and you should too!" he yelled as he ran down the road.

The angry red head glared at the retreating trainer before turning back towards the huge water type and, with shaky hands, reached for a pokeball... dumb move..

\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\\-\

After running for what seemed like hours, Ash finally slowed to a stop. Abra had taken refuge in his backpack during the run, which was now securely on his back. He placed his hands on his knees as he bent over to catch his breath.

"Ma..man... what was a Gyarados doing in there?" he asked himself.

Abra peeked her head out from his backpack and answered, _"well one, there are probably Magikarp in that river, so it's not too farfetched that one would evolve. Second, that river is more than likely fueled directly from the sea, going bay how close to the Coast Pallet Town in, so the occasional Sea pokemon may make its way in there."_

Ash nodded as he stood up straight, "well, that would explain Staryu, in more ways than one.."

 _"You mean by how it was injured and in a freshwater river in the first place?"_ she asked, to which Ash nodded.

"Still, we can think about all this later. Right now, we need to get Staryu to a Pokemon Center. Viridian shouldn't be that far away.." he said as he took out his Pokedex and activated the map option. He then threw a smile to his starter, "you probably want to some to actually rest, too, right?"

As if on cue, the little Abra nodded, "way ahead of you.." she said before disappearing back into the confines of his backpack."

Chuckling silently, Ash continued his trek. He was hoping to get to Viridian before it got too dark. The sooner the better, for Staryu's sake.

In their haste, neither of them noticed the beautiful rainbow legendary in the sky. The benevolent being merely chuckled as it sent them a silent blessing and flew off towards Johto.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Thanks to the brisk, fright-filled run from earlier, Ash had indeed made it to Viridian city just as the sun was setting.

"Phew.. finally here.. he said as he approached the city.

"Hold it!" said a loud, demanding female voice.

From a small station right on the boarder of the city popped a male and female officer. The female that had called out to him was a tall woman with teal colored hair in a spiky ponytail, red eyes, and black stiletto heels. In other words, a typical Officer Jenny. The male officer was unremarkable, save for the electronic tablet he seemed to be carrying.

"Sorry young man, but everyone entering the city must check in here," Jenny said to him, "we've been having an issue with thieves lately and we are trying to crack down on them."

"That's fine," Ash said, "Whatever you need."

"Just hand me your I.D. or Pokedex and place your hand on the scanner here.."

Nodding and complying with the Officer's orders, Ash handed her his Pokedex and placed his hand on the tablet/scanner that the other officer was holding. Within moments, the tablet had scanned his hand and fingerprints, and displayed his entire life profile, along with his non-existent criminal profile.

"Woa, that's pretty cool." the young trainer said in slight awe.

"yup! Top of the line technology." The female officer said as she finished checking his Pokedex, then handed it back to him. As the young trainer waited the scan to end, he stole at glance at the male officer holding the tablet, he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at what the man was saying in his head.

'Arceus I hate this job, I could've been out looking for those pokemon thieves and kicking ass but _noooo_.. I thought being a cop was supposed to be exciting..fighting Team Rocket bandits..taking out smuggling rings.. how'd I get stuck with this shift!'

Ash couldn't help but feel sympathy for the bored cop, obviously he was still young and itching for action.

"ok, you're all set. I hope you enjoy our fair city, Mr. Ketchum." Jenny said as the scan completed.

"Thanks" Ash said as he took his I.D. back, "See you around officer."

With their exchange done, Ash quickly ran for the pokemon center. Even though Staryu was relatively ok, it still needed medical treatment.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It didn't take long for Ash to reach the Pokemon Center, out of breath from running the whole way.

When the young, pink-haired nurse behind the counter, she was curious and slightly worried.

'uh oh.. Is someone hurt? He certainly is in a hurry..'

"Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he came to a top in front of her, "I caught this Staryu after it was attacked by a Gyarados. Can you help it?"

"Oh! sure! Just hand it to me.." she said with some urgency in her voice. Wild Gyarados were potentially dangerous, due to their aggressive tempers and destructive power. The injuries from their attacks could be life threatening.

"Thank you Nurse Joy," Ash said in relief as he finally took a moment to breathe.

As the nurse disappeared into the back, the young trainer took a moment to look around the Center Lobby. There were tables with chairs scattered around, couches that lined the walls, a couple TVs in the top corners, and about ten or so Vid-phones lined up next to the nurse's station. Other than Ash, there were about ten or so trainers scattered around the Center, either waiting for their pokemon to heal, or talking with other trainers about various subjects.

Ash decided that, instead of just idling, he would call the Professor, to let him know he was safe.

Ring...Ring... Ring...

 _"Hello, this is Oak Laboratory, Professor Oak Speaking.."_

"Hey Professor.." Ash said happily, if not tiredly,"I made it to Viridian.."

 _"Ash?"_ The old man said, slightly surprised, _"I wasn't expecting to hear from you.. so you're in Viridian already? My, you work quickly"_ Oak said with a smile on his face.

"Mhm, and I caught a Staryu too!" the boy said with a little more excitement

 _"Really now, well congratulations! Remember to take good care of it! It may benefit you to ask the Cerulean Gym Leader about their care."_

"Thanks, Professor. I'll do that."

 _ **'Will Ash Ketchum please report to the front desk!'**_

"Oh! I gotta go Professor, I'll call you another time!"

 _"Alright Ash, take care!"_ then man said with a wide smile before the screen went blank.

That done, Ash once again walked up to the front counter where Joy was waiting for him. Joy had a smile on her face, 'This one was lucky..' she thought. "Your Staryu is as good as new, young man."

"Thank you ma'am.." he said as he took the pokeball back. His first capture.. safe and sound..

As a wave of relief, pride, and happiness washed over him, Ash took a seat on one of the Center's vacant couches. As he sat there, he took off his backpack and opened it up, revealing his still sleeping starter.

The young trainer couldn't help but smile as he closed the pack back up. Best to let his friend sleep as long as possible, she deserved it.

"There you are!" A shrill, slightly familiar voice, called out.

When Ash turned his head, he went wide eyed as he saw the red head from the river earlier. Her clothes were slightly damp, her face was twisted in anger, and on her back was a ruined bike and a bright red bag.

Her was settled squarely on Ash as she marched forward on tired feet, "You're the coward of a so-called trainer that left me high and dry at the river! With a Gyarados of all things!" she said, with her thoughts just as loud as her mouth, 'I'm gonna make him pay.. 'I'm gonna make him PAY!'

A bit shocked, and slightly scared, Ash put his hands up and said, "I-I just started today, and I don't have a pokemon that could've helped! The Staryu I had just caught was injured, and my starter only knows one move!" he said, defending his decision to run, "besides! I figured you would've done the same thing!"

"NO! I didn't! I'm not a coward like some people!" She said as she dropped her ruined bike on the floor, "Because of you and your selfish actions, that Gyarados destroyed my bike and completely soaked me!" She had somehow completely convinced herself that it was his fault.

"Coward? Selfish!" Ash yelled back as he glared at the girl, all nervousness forgotten, "It's not my fault you stupidly decided to take on a Gyarados when you could've easily run like I did! And like it I said, I don't have the pokemon right now to take on a full grown, raging Gyarados! "

"Well then Maybe you should've thought of that before you PREVOKED IT!" She yelled, getting increasingly louder. By this time, all of the other trainers were staring at them. While some were irritated at the noise, others were listening into the conversation.

"PREVOKED IT!?" Ash yelled, he couldn't believe the nerve of this girl, "You're the one that-"

"Excuse me," both turned to see a very irritated Nurse joy, "I'm going to ask you both to either calm down or leave. This is a place for healing, no for fights."

"sorry, Nurse joy.." the boy said softly as he bowed, ashamed that he had let this girl get under his skin. Still.. she was insufferable..

'Yes Nurse Joy," the red head said, "Sorry this _boy_ interrupted your work.." She said with a small smirk, causing Ash to growl lowly.

"You both are to blame!" The nurse said, frowning at the girl, "Now I want you both to shakes hands and go to opposite ends of the Center."

"wait!" the girl said, 'Now's my chance to get the nurse on my side' "This so called trainer is responsible for destroying my bike!" she said as she brought tears to her eyes, "Can't you please do something? Justice needs to be served!"

Ash growled, 'what a liar..' he thought, then addressed calmly, "Joy, Her bike was destroyed when she was attacked by a Gyarados."

"WHICH WAS YOUR FAULT!"

"ENOUGH!" The nurse yelled, shutting the red head up. The poor woman then sighed to calm her nerves as she looked at them both, "take this outside please!"

Ash nodded, "I promise not to yell anymore, Nurse Joy. I have a sleeping pokemon in my bag anyway.." he said as he walked outside to cool off, while thinking, 'I'm surprised she didn't wake up..'

 _'I am awake actually..'_ a familiar feminine voice said in his head

'Oh? When did you wake up?' Ash asked her mentally

 _'A few moments ago, hard to sleep with a banshee in your ear.._ ' Abra said irritably

'Heh, I know right? All of her angry thoughts are giving me a headache..'

"HEY! Are you listening to me?!" The redhead yelled, breaking through their mental conversation. Apparently she had followed him.

"Huh?" Ash said with a jump, " What do you want now?" he said, trying to keep his voice as level as possible.

"I WANT Compensation! Since it's your fault that I wasn't able to salvage my bike!" she said as he held her hand out, as if expecting something.

"Miss.. I do NOT...owe you a bike" he said as his eyes flashed, which went unnoticed by the girl as she continued

"And I think.." she said as an almost evil smirk made to her face, "I'll take that Staryu you caught earlier. It's only fair anyway-"

"NO WAY IN HELL!" he said growling, his eyes now solid blue. Her thought were all angry and selfish.. disgusting!

 _"Ash, calm down.."_ Abra said as she popped out of his bag and placed a hand on his shoulder, _"she has no grounds for her claim, if she takes Staryu from you, you can report her to the authorities."_

Hearing this, the young boy calmed down and smiled, "Like I said. There is no way in hell I am giving you Staryu or any of my pokemon. Your claim doesn't have a leg to stand on. And if you do try to take my pokemon from me, I'll tell Officer Jenny that you stole it-"

"How about a battle then?" she said with a frown, knowing he had a valid point. At least this way it was legal.

"Huh?" Ash said, confused, though he started to grow angry again as he read her surface train of thought.

"You heard me, a battle. You win, I drop the whole matter. I win, I get Staryu. Deal?" She said, putting on a smile to hide the deviance in her plan. She knew he was a newbie, so she had the advantage. Beat him down in a battle and Staryu would be all hers, and she wouldn't have to bother fishing for one.

Of course, Ash saw right though her, and simply said, "No"

"Huh?!" she said, looking flabbergasted.

"You heard me, I said no. Not because I'm afraid of losing. My pokemon aren't betting chips. They're my friends and family. I may have just caught Staryu, but that doesn't mean I think of her any less!" he said with a passion. Some trainers from the center that had come out to watch the fight, applauded him for his valiant statement.

The red head, however, wasn't impressed, "humph! Whatever.. You're just a noob who probably doesn't know a Charmander from a Bulbasaur.. another typical bratty novice trainer.." she said as she went walked away a bit and then turned around, pokeball in hand. As she threw it up in the air, a large, purple double star-like pokemon appeared. It was similar to Staryu except bigger, and more impressive looking. Its center gem was an octagon-shape instead of round as well.

Recognizing the pokemon, Ash took out his Dex:

 _ **Starmie:**_ _The Mysterious Pokemon_

 _Its central Core glows with the seven colors of the rainbow. Some People value the core as a gem._

Now Ash was perplexed, "If you already have a Starmie, then why do you want my Staryu?"

Of course, reading her thoughts, Ash already knew the answer. Still, the girl said, "I'm just showing you something you'll never see again. That Staryu will never evolve, not while under the care of a wannabe pokemon trainer such as yourself!" She said with a sneer. She then flared herself around as she twirled around, "They need a water pokemon master, like me, to reach their full potential!"

"WRONG!" Ash said, interrupting her, and breaking her out of her self-centered daydream, "They need good training, and a Water Stone, to reach their max potential and evolved form," he said with smile, "Besides, we both know that you're not even planning to evolve Staryu if you get it. Not if you want a complete set!"

Ash's accusation caused the girl to look at him wide-eyed, "How did you-"

"How did I know? Because I've seen it done before!" he yelled, not revealing how he really knew, "Lots of trainers try and get a complete evolutionary set! its common!"

The redhead just growled. This kid was smarter than she thought. And he was also right about taking the pokemon by force, even if she did feel she was entitled to it. He could easily have her arrested.

Ash just sighed, he was tired of this, "Listen, Misty, why don't you just leave me alone! Alright? You're not getting any freebies from me!" He yelled, before freezing as he realized his mistake.

"Hey! How did you know my name was Misty! I never told you my name!" The girl, now known as Misty, said, slightly shocked.

Now Ash was sweating bullets while Abra just sweatdropped, "w-well, I uh..."

*CRASH!*

'Talk about timing..' both Ash and Abra thought as they heard a loud noise come from inside the center. Sensing trouble, he and the other trainers made their way inside.

In the center, glass and debri rained from the broken roof and onto the floor. Behind the front desk, two people and three pokemon surrounded and gripped Nurse Joy, who now appeared to be tied and gagged, her eyes wide with fear.

The first human was a woman with long, red, scythe-like hair, and piercing blue eyes. The second human was a Man with shorter blue hair and sharp green eyes. The three pokemon surrounding them were Meowth, Ekans, and Koffing.

"What the.."

"Whats going on?"

"Are they theives?"

"Hey! Let Nurse Joy go!"

The thieves just chuckled and went into some.. weird rhyme..

"Prepare for Trouble!" The Woman started

"And Make it Double!" The man followed

 **(Skipping the rest because it makes my head hurt!)**

All of the trainers in the center just stared and glared at the group that had announced themselves as Team Rocket. Some were angry and shocked at how they had the nurse. Some were just shocked to hear a talking pokemon.

As Ash stared at them, he read their thoughts. They were after the pokemon, of course, but their methods for getting them and their intentions were downright despicable. Growling, he turned to Abra as they silently began forming a plan.

"Now.. as for why we're here.." the woman named Jessie started, "All we want is for you nice, cooperative trainers to give us all of your pokemon"

"Yes," the man, James said, "Follow our instructions, and we'll let Nurse Joy go free, unharmed."

"Resist us.." The Meowth said as he unsheathed his claws next to Nurse Joy's throat, "'nuff said."

All of the trainers, including Misty, growled, but complied, as they reluctantly placed their pokeballs in a bag that the large snake Pokemon had in front of it.

"That's right, keep em comin'" The Meowth said, ignoring the tears and whimpers coming from the poor nurse.

Just as the bag got to Ash who had a pokeball in hand, Abra suddenly disappeared off his shoulder

"Huh?" The theives all said at the same time.

"Hey! What is this!" Meowth said as his claws came closer to the nurse's neck.

"I-I'm sorry!" Ash said in a sort of whimper as he put his hands in front of him in a prayer-like gesture, "I just got that Abra and it doesn't like to listen to me!" he lied, though no one could tell. As he said his lines, he continually read the cat pokemon's mind for its intentions with the nurse. When Abra disappeared, its thoughts became more hostile, but thanks to Ash's statement, it was more relaxed.

Jessie just snorted, "so you can't even control your own pokemon? How pathetic. All the more reason for us to take it-"

She was cut off when Abra reappeared... on her head.

"Wah!" she yelled, losing her cool almost instantly, "get it off, get it off! It's on my hair!" she flailed around as she tried to get the Psi pokemon off her.

"Stand still, I'll get it," James said as he attempted to grab the psychic, only for it to disappear, and reappear on his head, "What the- hey!" He yelled as he grabbed for the pokemon.

Abra once again teleported, and reappeared right in front of Meowth, who was still guarding Nurse Joy.

As the fox-face creature stared with unblinking, squinted eyes, the Cat glared back and growled. "That's how you want to play it huh?" he said as he took his claws away from Nurse Joy's neck, causing her to sigh in relief.

"Then take this !" the Scratch Cat said as he swiped at the Arba, who only, once again, teleported..

..right behind him.

As soon as Meowth looked back, he received a kick to the back from the Psi pokemon, who immediately grabbed Nurse Joy's arm and teleported them both away.

"WHAT?!"

"OH NO!" The thieves yelled as their plan was thwarted. With their hostage gone, they had no leverage, and no defense against the pissed off trainers.

"GET EM!"

As Ekans desperately guarded the bag of pokeballs already collected, it was knocked back by a powerful stream of water, courtesy of Ash's newest pokemon, Staryu.

The boy smirked as he gave his first official orders as a trainer, "Alright! Take it out with Rapid spin!"

With no hesitation, the Star Shape pokemon took off as it spun in the air, scoring a powerful direct hit on the large snake, sending it backwards with the bag still wrapped in its tail.

"Ekans, fight back with Poison sting!" The female thief yelled, commanding her pokemon. Ekans hissed as it got back up and fired off a wave of poisonous barbs and pin-like projectiles.

"Counter that with swift!" Ash yelled to his pokemon, who began to spin vertically as it shot out dozens of bright yellow stars, which successfully stopped the incoming attack and continued to hit the Ekans directly, pushing it back against a wall and away from the bag. The other trainers looked on, slightly impressed. He said he had just caught that Staryu, and they were already in perfect sync? Incredible..

Even the flaming red-head Misty was slightly impressed.. only slightly.. She still believed that a newbie trainer like Ash didn't deserve Staryu, and that it would be better off in her hands.

"Now finish it with Water Gun!" he said with a huge grin on his face. The Starfish's gem flashed once before shooting another strong stream of water. The purple snake had nowhere to go as it was hit straight on and knocked out and back to its trainer. With the Ekans out of the way, the bag was unguarded, and the trainers eagerly dived for it to get their partners back.

"Hey! That's our bag!" James yelled, "Koffing, attack them with sludge bomb!"

As the Koffing roared its name and readied its attack, Ash and Staryu got ready for round two. They were cut off as a water gun, almost twice as strong as Staryu's rammed into Koffing and knocked it backwards, cutting off its sludge attack.

When Ash and Staryu turned towards where the attack had come from, they saw Misty and her Starmie. Aparently she had gotten it back rather quickly from the bag. Of course, the red head had a smug grin on her face, "And that's what a true Water Gun looks like!"

Ash just glared at her. Not only had she stolen his thunder, but she had threw it back in his face. From her thought, the boy knew that she was just trying to, not only help, but show him up ad show who was stronger.

'Well, of course she's stronger. For one, her pokemon is evolved, and she's probably had it for years..' he thought to himself as he turned his head back to the fight. He wouldn't let her rile him up.

Within moments, Koffing was back up, injured, but still able to fight. James smiled, "That a boy! Now take those Starfish out with Smog!"

The oversized bag of gas shouted its name as it released a cloud of poisonous fog.

"RAPID SPIN!" Both trainers shouted out as their pokemon cut through the smog with their spinning, continuing on to hit the Koffing simultaneously. The force of the double hit was enough to knock the poison type out.

Just like that, it was now just Jesse, James, and Meowth, against the still angry trainers in the center, now all reunited with their previously stolen pokemon and ready to fight.

They nervously looked at each other with one shared thought in mind..

"Retreat?" Jessie said fearfully. Her comrades nodded quickly as Meowth took out a remote and pushed a button.

Within moments, a rope ladder appeared from the roof as the Trio eagerly grabbed for it. The trainers wouldn't let them leave that easily.

"Flamethrower!" "Water Gun!" "Leaf Storm!" "Hyperbeam!" "Psybeam!"

All of the attacks hit the trio dead on as they tried to escape via the roof, causing a huge explosion. Once the smoke cleared, the thieves were nowhere to be seen, and the hole in the roof was even bigger.

Even though the Rocket Trio had somehow escaped, the trainers cheered. They had successfully defeated Team Rocket and no one was hurt.

Once the noise died down, a few of the trainers, including Misty, approached Ash with praise, or in Misty's case, contempt.

"Hey, your Abra was really something" The first trainer said

"Yea, I've never seen a Pokemon so smart!" a female trainer said next

"No telling where we would be without it!" a third trainer said with a smile

"Oh please!" Misty said with a snort, "You heard him, he didn't do anything! Abra acted on its own," she then smirked, "He's just a noob that has no control over his own starter."

Ash just smirked as Abra returned to his shoulder in a small flash of light, "are you sure about that, Misty?" he said as he gently scratched his pokmon behind the ear.

The other trainers looked on, confused, until the liberated Nurse Joy came reappeared , "is everyone alright in here?"

"Nurse Joy!" all of the trainers said as they sighed in relief

"Are you ok?"

"where were you"

"Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine!" the nurse said with a smile, before turning to Ash, "thanks to this young man and his pokemon. They had a brilliant plan."

As some of the trainers still looked confused, Ash cleared his throat and explained, "You see, Abra and I had everything planned. We used her uncanny ability to teleport to our advantage, and by saying that Abra just didn't listen, it made it seemed less like a retaliation and more like just disobedient pokemon. Thus, they let their guard down."

The other trainers looked at him, impressed with his and Abra's simple yet calculated plan.

Misty continued to glared. So it was all an act? She scowled, "And what would you have done if your plan hadn't worked huh?!" she yelled, causing everyone to look at her, "what would you have done if that Meowth had decided to slice Nurse Joy's throat open the moment your psychic disappeared, huh?!"

Ash glared at her. Yes his plan had some slight risks, but with his gift, the risks were nearly nullified. But he couldn't tell her that. Next best thing, blame Abra. 'sorry girl'

 _'No biggie..'_

"My Abra has the unique ability to read the intentions of others, and I trust her judgment completely. If she believed that Nurse Joy was safe, then so do I" he said, crossing his arms defiantly while Abra stuck her tongue out at the girl and made a raspberry.

As Staryu hopped over to join its trainer, Misty fumed and turned away, 'grr.. nothing's going my way! At this rate I'll never get that Staryu! Its Water was pretty strong for a pokemon freshly caught. I'll have to figure out another way..' These were her last thoughts as she left the room in a huff.

Somehow, Ash knew that this wouldn't be the last they saw of her, or the Rocket group.

'Great.. two more pains to possibly add to my journey..' he thought bitterly

 _'Isn't there an old saying that goes, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger"? Maybe these little obstables will prove to favor us eventually..'_ Abra said optimistically as she patted Ash on his shoulder, making the boy chuckle, "I hope you're right Abra.. I desperately hope you are right.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **Chapter 2 done!**

 **Did I make Misty too much of a bitch? I Hope so! LOL!**

 **I swear, I rewrote that Rocket scene at least 3 times before it made sense. But I think it was worth it!**

 **And also, I KNOW that Misty already had a Staryu and a Starmie in the series, I just rewrote it a bit so that she only had a Starmie so it made more sense.**

 **Anyways, comments and reviews appreciated. Flames will be drowned in the eternal pool.**


	3. Chapter 3: Friends of the Forest

Chapter 3!

Viridian Forest and maybe beyond!

Ash will catch his next team member here. Can you guess who?

Let's get started!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!

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The Viridian Forest is said to be the first true test for beginning trainers.

The woods were thick with bushes, trees, and canopies, and filled to the brim with low to mid level bug types and other common pokemon.

Ash for one found it to be very peaceful and inviting. The warm, sunny weather, the shade provided by the tree tops, the numerous chirps and calls of the native pokemon.. a little piece of paradise to the young trainer..

Unfortunately, it didn't last..

From out of his bag popped a previously sleeping Abra, who gently placed a claw on his shoulder, " _I hate to interrupt your moment of peace, but we have company."_

"Huh?" Ash said as he turned towards his starter, who was pointing behind them. What he saw made him frown and sigh.

That annoying red head, Misty was trailing behind him, looking all over with a nervous look on her face, 'better not see any bugs.. why am I even bothering with this? Oh yea.. easiest way home, and if I run into anything, I can use that Ash kid as protection..maybe even get that Staryu from him in the process..'

Ash and Abra looked at her with disgust. Selfish.. nothing but selfish desires in that head of hers. Having heard enough, the young trainer decided to call her out, "Hey! Why are you following me?!"

This snapped the girl out of her thoughts. 'How did he know I was here... must've been that stupid Abra..' she thought.

Realizing she was caught, the redhead glared at him, "BECAUSE!.." she yelled, "One this is the easiest way home! Two, You and I have some matters to discuss still. And three.." she continued with a smirk, "You obviously need some help. A little noob like yourself would never make it through the forest unscathed. So, to show how nice I am, I'm going to help you. Who wouldn't want the advice of an expert trainer like myself-"

"Will you shut up.." Ash groaned while Abra glared at the conceited girl. Through her thoughts, the young mind reader could tell that most of her statements were lies. _She_ was the one that needed help because of her phobia of bugs, which the Viridian forest was known for. "Look, I don't need the help of some random water master wannabe who wants nothing more than to use me and take my pokemon. I may be a noob, but I am neither clueless nor stupid. So why don't you do us both a favor and go away!"

The redhead let out a gasp, "how dare you! I'll show you, you little.." then, she paused, and froze up in what appeared to be heart-stopping fear. All Ash could get from her mind was 'bug! bug! BUG! Filthy, disgusting, poisonous bug!'

Fearing that maybe a Beedrill swarm had snuck up on them, Ash slowly turned around and found..

..nothing...

"huh?" the boy said, perplexed, then turned back to Misty, "What's the matter with you? there's nothing there.."

That's when she started pointing frantically at something by his feet, "Th-There! It's a big scary bug! Get it AWAAAAY!" she yelled as she waved her arms in front of her and backed away more.

Looking to where she was pointing, Ash smirked when he saw the 'scary bug.'

It was a Caterpie, looking at them, mostly him, with curiosity in its big eyes. It was actually kinda cute, at least to Ash.

The little bug looked at the girl for a sec while she was ranting, then back up to Ash. " _She's weird.."_ it said in a cute little girl voice

Ash and Abra laughed at the comment before the young trainer bent down on one knee in front of it, "she is, isn't she," he whispered, so that Misty wouldn't hear. The little caterpillar looked up at him with cute, wide eyes, _"You can understand me?"_

"mhm," he nodded, "It's a gift of mine, among other things.." he then looked behind him. Misty was back a ways, but still visible, starting at him. Her thoughts questioned his sanity and wondered what he would do with the Caterpie, or 'icky disgusting bug' in her words. He chuckled and smirked as an idea formed into his head.

"Say Caterpie," Ash said aloud, "Would you like to be my pokemon? You may be small now, but I sense that you can be a strong and beautiful Butterfree given time and training. What do you say?"

"You..you really want me on your team?" the bug asked, a little shocked, most trainers just ignored her or even tried to step on her, but this one.. "Yes! I would love to be on your team! I've always wanted to become a Butterfree!" she said excitedly as she waved her stubby little nobs around.

Ash couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled out a Pokeball, "alright then, welcome to the team Caterpie!" he said as he threw it, instantly capturing the bug who didn't even put up a fight.

As Ash beamed at his newest capture, Misty looked on shocked, 'he..he caught it?! Grrrr..'

The telepathic duo snickered before releasing their newest teammate, who chirped in happiness. With a bright smile, Ash picked the little bug type up, and placed it on his other shoulder. Then as a further insult to injury, he looked back at Misty and gave her a smile and wave, "thanks Misty! Now I have a new bug type!" He then continued on his way as if she wasn't there.

"Wha..Wait!" she called out, running towards him. He turned back to her with a stifled a groan, before Abra whispered something into his ear, making him chuckle. He then whispered something into Caterpie's ear and turned back towards the offending red head, "why Misty? Would you like to say hi to Caterpie?" he said as held the happy little bug in his hand, outstretched towards her.

Predictably, the girl freaked out and backed up, "K-keep it away from me!"

They all snickered mentally, while Ash just shrugged, "oh well.. let's go gals, we need to get going. Let's leave miss Meany pants here."

That said, they all walked off.

"HEY! Don't just leave me!" She yelled at them, still staying still as she looking around the creepy bug-filled forest. With a groan, she continued to trail after the young male trainer. Unfortunately, thanks to the thickness of the forests, she soon found herself hopelessly lost, "..damnit!" Now what would she do..

That's when a weedle fell right on front of her, making her scream in terror for the whole forest to hear, including the ears of a boy wearing a strange outfit and wielding a sword...

\\-\\-\\-\\-\

After walking for another hour, Ash decided to take a break. He pulled out a snack and some food for his pokemon. As he watched them eat, he started forming training tactics in his mind.

Abra will need work perfecting her teleportation, since that was the only attack she had. She had good accuracy, but still tired out after using it over 10 times. After that Team Rocket Fiasco, she was pretty tired. They would also work on strengthening her body and fists for future attacks, like her egg move, Fire Punch. She also needed to be strong enough to handle a TM. If given to a young pokemon too soon, the move could backfire and cause damage to the user. Neither of them wanted that.

Staryu would need to strengthen its Watergun, and Swift attacks. That can be done with conditioning. Another thing Ash wanted to work on with it was maneuverability. Best way to do that was to learn increased speed and control in its Rapid Spin Attack. It would be even better if they could use it in combination with some of its other moves.

Caterpie, their newest edition, would need the most work. Being a little bug type, she was naturally weak, and would need a lot of care and training to get her to prime condition. The positive thing though, was that she, like most Caterpie and Weedle, would evolve quickly to her final form, probably within the week if they were lucky.

With a small nod, Ash stood up, "ok guys, listen up!" he said, "for the next couple days, we're going to be focusing on training. Once I see some good progress, we'll move on. Understood?"

Upon hearing the cheers of his pokemon, they got to work.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Two days of training later, Ash was proud of his pokemon and the results of their hard work.

Arba was now much faster will her Teleport. She still struggled with endurance, but she could now teleport about 15 times before exhaustion would kick in.

Staryu was faster as well, though Ash noticed that it was a bit of a struggle to properly train it on speed outside of the water. It'll get easier in time, but for now it was an inconvenience, to say the least. Its Swift attack was stronger and its Water gun could now be split among all five points, for a short amount of time.

Caterpie was very close to evolving, Ash could tell. She was much faster when moving through the trees, using the technique Ash taught her, which entailed her to use String shot to swing and use her environment to her advantage. It was simple, yet effective as long as there was something to swing on. Right now they were just working on control. Ash lost count of how many times she swung herself into a tree...

Satisfied with their progress, Ash decided to wrap things up and move on. He had just finished packing up camp when Abra caught his attention _, "Ash, people are coming.."_

Curious, the young trainer turned to his starter with a raised eyebrow, "is it that Misty girl?" He hadn't really thought about it, but after two days, he wondered if she was ok.

The Psi Pokemon nodded, " _Yes, and one other that I do not recognize"_

Within moments, just as Abra predicted, Misty came through the trees and into their clearing, looking like she had seen better days. Her hair and clothes were a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot, as if she hadn't slept in a couple days.

The other figure was male and was.. in a word.. strange..

He was wearing a very bug-like type of armor, and a wooden sword swung at his side from a belt. Although Ash couldn't see his eyes through his helmet, he could tell that something was off.

Their thoughts answered some of his questions..

'got you this time..' Misty thought as she wore a smirk.

'now I can defend my as well as the shrieking maiden's honor from this novice ..' the male teen said as he retained his stoic look.

It was then that Misty started to show off her acting skills, "T-there he is! We were supposed to be travelling together , but he just left me out here all alone!" she said as tears started to pour from her eyes.

" _Totodile tears.."_ Abra said in her head, not convinced in the slightest.

"You there, novice!" The boy yelled out, "How dare you abandon this poor shrieking girl, defenseless in the wild!" he then drew his sword, putting Ash on edge (ignore the pun..) until Abra tapped him on the shoulder in assurance , "it's just for show, he has no intention of using it"

"Anyone who would abandon another is a weak, shameless coward! Now I, Samurai, shall now put you in your place, novice, and force you to see the error of your ways and apologize to this maiden!" the boy , now known as Samurai shouted.

Seeing where this was going, Ash held his arms up partly and tried to diffuse the situation, "hold on, err... Samurai.. You got it all wrong, I didn't-"

"SHUT UP!" Misty yelled, cutting him off, "everything you say is a lie! You promised me you would get me through the forest, then you just upped and left me to die!"

"WHAT!" Ash yelled, getting increasingly pissed and annoyed with this girl, "You're the liar here! I never said that! You're the one follow me like a scared little puppy because you want my Staryu and protection from bugs!"

"WHY YOU!"

"ENOUGH!" The Samurai shouted, quieting the them down. He looked in between the two as they continued to glare at each other. He then turned to Ash, "Alright, novice. I shall give you one chance to explain yourself."

Although he didn't appreciate being called a novice, the young trainer nodded, "Alright. I never made any promises to this girl, and we're not travelling together. She's just following me for her own selfish reasons."

"AM NOT!"

"She wants my Staryu so she can have a complete evolutionary set. And she's not helpless as she has pokemon with her. She's just so scared of bug pokemon that she figure trailing me was the best way to get both things she wanted!" Ash explained, raising his voice at the end, "She's just selfish, loudmouth, spoilt little girl"

"And your just a stupid brat that has no idea what he's doing! " Misty yelled, "I was going to offer my assistance to help you train, but after that..!"

"Like I'd want your help. I'm doing fine on my own. And knowing you, you would probably ask for something in return, like my water types." Ash said as he glared at her, his eyes flashing blue, but luckily going unnoticed

"Don't act like you know me!" Misty said, even though inside she knew it was true. That's exactly what she would've done. How did he guess that?

As the Samurai listened to them go back and forth, a dozen thoughts went through his head. At first, he had bought the shrieking Maiden's story hook, line, and sinker, but now, after hearing some of the novice's story, and with both of them calling each other a liar, he did not know who to believe. The maiden, or the novice..

Then, an idea came to his mind, and Ash inwardly smirked, 'get ready guys..' he sent mentally to his pokemon.

"Very well, we shall settle this in true samurai fashion.." The armored boy said, "I shall challenge each of you to a pokemon battle, two on two.. "

Both trainers sent him confused looks, though Ash's was pure acting.

"What will that prove?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow

"It will prove much. Now both of you prepare yourself for battle!"

Within moments, Samurai was on one side of the clearing and Ash and Misty were on the other.

Misty glared at the boy still contemplating ways to get what she wanted, while Ash.. just crossed his arms and smiled at her, then tilted her head towards the field, "ladies first.."

A little surprised at his courteousness, Misty smirked and nodded, "Why thank you.." she said as she stepped forward, pokeball in hand.

Samurai nodded and readied his own Pokeball, "we will start off with this, Metapod, Go!"

In a flash of light, a green, chrysalis cocoon appeared onto the field, making Misty freeze up and take a few steps back, "P-Poliwag, I choose you!"

The cute little tadpole pokemon appeared on the field, though something ... wasn't right...

The little tadpole didn't appear very lively. It wasn't really bouncing around like its species was known for, and its color looked a bit dull. While it didn't appear hurt or abused, it was obvious that Misty wasn't taking good care of it. The biggest tell was that the little water type didn't look happy.. it looked.. scared..

 _"a-another battle?"_ The Poliwag uttered as it looked over at its opponent, " _but.. but Miss Misty-"_

"Poliwag, Watergun!" Misty shouted

The tadpole sighed before shooting a small watergun at the cocoon.

"Harden, then take it!" The Samurai called out.

A bright sheen washed over the bug type as it successfully took the Watergun without taking any damage. Seeing this, Misty growled in slight frustration and gave out another order, "Watergun again, then use Double Slap!"

"Harden!"

Poliwag once again shot off another Watergun, which again had no effect. It then ran forward and began slapping the chrysalis with its tail. It had little effect.

"My turn, " the Samurai said, "Metapod, Hardened Tackle!"

Defying all logic, Metapod bounced towards its opponent, intent on tackling it to the ground.

"Dodge it!" Misty called out frantically. Unfortunately , Poliwag wasn't fast enough and was hit dead on, knocking it to the ground.

"Get up!" Misty urged, almost demanded, of her pokemon.

As Poliwag struggled to stand, Samurai called out his next command, "Repeat! Hardened Tackle!"

Once again, the sheen of harden surrounded Metapod as it bounded towards Poliwag, scoring a direct hit. This time, the little water type didn't get back out. In fact, in Ash's eyes, it almost seemed releived to be knocked out. Like the Samurai, he decided it was best to hold his tongue. Still, it didn't stop him from hearing the older boy's thoughts.

'That was truly pathetic. And she calls herself a gym leader? What rubbish.. and that Poliwag looked weak and barely trained...'

They almost mirrored Ash's thoughts exactly, except for the gym leader part.. she's a gym leader? Must be a pretty sad gym..

"Poliwag return.." Misty said with a grumble, 'weak, poor excuse of a frog.. we're going to have to double training...'

Ash frowned at that thought.. that Poliwag needed rest and a good meal, not training..

"Starmie! I choose you!"She then called, releasing her giant Starfish. It of course looked in much better condition than Poliwag, more than likely meaning that Misty played favorites. Now, Ash wont' deny, Starmie was a beautiful pokemon, but that didn't mean that the rest of her team didn't deserve the same amount of love and attention.

Samurai had the same thoughts as he returned his Metapod, and released a pokemon rarely seen in these parts of the forest, a Scyther.

Seeing the bug type, once again, made Misty freak out, "gah! What is it with you and bugs!"

The Samurai just snorted, "They are my life, and deserve our respect. Now are you going to make a move or not?"

Misty just growled, "more like they deserved to be squished! Which is exactly what I'm going to do!" She declared before giving out her first order to her Pokemon, "Starmie, Hydro Pump!"

 _"Yes ma'am"_ Ash heard the pokemon say in an almost monotone voice before spraying a huge torrent of water at the mantis pokemon.

"Double Team!" Samurai called out, causing Scyther to nod and split into afterimages of itself, giving the illusion of there being five of them on the field, which only help to further freak Misty out.

"WAAAHHH!" the red head wailed and shivered in fear, "St-Starmie, Watergun them all, quick!"

Starmie seemingly nodded before sending a watergun attack after all of the Scythers. Four of the disappeared.. the last one..

"Slash!"

Hit Starmie straight across its precious jewel, knocking it back.

As Ash watched the battle, he took notes on how Stamie moved and attacked for future reference. It was no secret that Staryu and Starmie's jewels, though beautiful, were their weak spots, as they contained their cores. He and Staryu would have to counteract that somehow.

"Starmie, recover!" Misty called out.

"Razor Wind!" Samurai shouted

As Starmie shrouded itself in a mysterious power to recover its HP. Scyther dashed forward and slashes its signature scythes through the air, causing Razor sharp wind currents to form, heading straight for the water type.

"Dodge that with Rapid Spin!" Misty urged, and immediately the pokemon took off into the air, spinning faster than the eye could see.

As Ash and Abra watched from the sidelines, they were amazed to see the difference between this battle and the last one. Misty and Starmie were completely in sync with each other and were performing much better. Still, the battle wasn't over yet, and Misty had yet to land a hit. By the look on her face, Misty already knew that

"Ok Starmie, Confuse Ray!" Misty called out, getting frustrated with the battle again. Several balls of yellow energy emerged from the Starfish before they were shot out towards Scyther.

"Night Slash to block and attack!" Samurai countered.

The Night Slash attack miraculously severed the balls and protected Scyther from the effects, causing several mini fireworks that looked pretty, but did nothing else.

"WHAT?!" the red head shouted in absolute shock. How did that do nothing?!

But Scyher didn't stop there. He continued his course of attack to once again smash into Starmie's core jewel. Thanks to the effects of the dark type move, Starmie was dealt double the damage. After a tense moment, it finally teetered and fell over, its jewel blinking to show its distress.

"Starmie... return.." Misty said with a heavy sigh. Looks like she still had a lot o training to do if she wanted to be the best...

"Good work, Scyther," the Samurai praised as he recalled his pokemon. He then looked to Ash and nodded, a silent motion for him to step forward.

After seeing his battle with Misty, Ash was pumped. He felt ready for any tricks that the samurai might throw at him. Misty, however, just snorted, "Like you'll do any better than me. I've been a trainer for over a year now-"

"Really?" Ash interrupted, "I wouldn't have guessed, going by how your Poliwag looked.." he said with a deadpan look, making her scowl. However, she surprisingly didn't comment, because she knew he was right. She would have to work with Poliwag more if she wanted to win battles with it.

After both boys took their places and readied their first pokeballs, Samurai called out, "Kakuna, your turn!" In a flash, a brown, cocoon-like pokemon with a more bug-like face than metapod emerged, causing Misty to Shiver and Ash to smile, "Alright then. Go Caterpie!"

In a similar flash, the little green bug type came out with a happy chirp, ready to go. Seeing the bug caused two reactions. It caused the Samurai to raise an eyebrow under his helmet, and it caused Misty to bust out laughing.

"BAA HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's it?! That's all you've got?! I knew you were weak, but this is pathetic even for you! HAHAHAHA!"

Her thoughtless comments caused both trainers and pokemon to glare at her before refocusing on the battle. Still, Samurai thought, the girl had a point. 'Ah well, if he is a novice then I shouldn't expect too much..'

"Kakuna, use Harden!" The boy shouted. As in the battle with Misty, the brown cocoon formed a bright sheen over itself as its shell hardened.

Ash, however, had a plan for this, "Alright Caterpie, let's try this.. String shot, but keep yourself connected!"

A stream of sticky material shot out from the caterpillar's mouth and wrapped itself around Kakuna, while the string still hung from Caterpie's mouth, connecting the two pokemon.

Now the others, except for Abra, were perplexed. The Samurai shrugged at the seemingly useless attack, "what good did that do?"

"Just watch.. " Ash said with a small smirk, "now, Caterpie! Use all of your strength. Swing and Slam!"

Following his trainer/friend's order, Caterpie narrowed her cute eyes and used the string to swing the Kakuna around, shocking both the Samurai and Misty, and then slam it to the ground, causing some damage.

"Keep it up, girl!" Ash encouraged. The little bug nodded. Though she was growing increasingly tired due to Kakuna's heavier weight, she managed to swing and slam it three more times into the trees and ground around them, before the string broke. After that, she was visibly panting and sweating.

Kakuna, however, wasn't that much better off, as it had several scratches on its shell, and was slow to move.

On the other side, Samurai was colored impressed. That was a very interesting and advanced technique for a novice trainer. However, Kakuna wasn't out yet, "Kakuna, Hard Tackle!"

Just like Metapod had done, Kakuna once again hardened its shell and flew at the tired caterpilliar.

"Dodge that, Caterpie! Ash called frantically. Unfortunately, as tired as she was, Caterpie was a touch too slow, and was knocked back by the attack.

Seeing this, Misty stuck her nose in the air, "told you it wouldn't be any different.. why don't you just give up and-" she was cut off as Caterpie started to glow. Now, everyone's attention was on its glowing, changing form.

"She's evolving.." Ash whispered in awe.

It was a complete transformation, as once the mysterious light faded away, there stood a green cocoon with sleepy looking eyes, "Metapod..."

"Awesome!" Ash yelled as he went and hugged his newest pokemon, "You evolved! I'm so proud of you!"

"Meta!" the chrysalis said happily.

Samurai couldn't help but smile, while Misty just scoffed and turned her head away, though even she had to admit that it was a cute scene.

After he finished, Ash turned back to the Samurai, "mind if we call this one draw.. ? i would continue but I don't think we want a battle of harden.." he said with a chuckle.

After seeing the situation that Ash was talking about, Samurai chuckled and nodded, "very well, a draw it is."

"What?!" Misty yelled. They were just..ending it there?

After they returned and congratulated their cocoon pokemon, Ash and Samurai squared off again, second pokeballs ready.

Samurai sent his fighter out first, "Go, Pinsir!" he yelled, releasing the fierce looking bug type, making Misty shriek and almost run away from the clearing. Samurai glared at her, "Will you please refrain from doing that. Are you trying to attract Beedrill?"

Ash just ignored her and got his pokedex out,

 _ **Pinsir:**_ _The StagBeetle Pokemon._

 _It grips its prey with its pincers until the prey is torn in half. What it can't tear, it tosses far_

Ash shivered slightly before turning to Abra, "what do you think?"

The little Psi Pokemon shook her head, _"Send Staryu out. It's long ranged attacks have a better chance right now.."_

The boy nodded at the sound logic. He was thinking that as well. With no more hesitation, Ash called out his next and last pokemon, "Staryu, let's go!"

The brown Star pokemon appeared with a call of "hyaa!"

Seeing the water type, the armored preteen raised an eyebrow, 'so that's what he meant by the girl wanting a complete set... seems decently strong. He must've trained it at least a little...' he thought to himself, unaware that Ash could hear it. He then nodded, "very well then, I shall allow you to have the first move."

"Alright then," the young trainer smiled, "Staryu, use swift!"

The bejeweled pokemon nodded and tossed itself up into the air and spun on a horizontal axis, where its gem began to glow. Within seconds, dozens of bright yellow stars shots out from its core and headed straight towards the large bug type.

Knowing that they wouldn't be able to dodge, Samurai firmed his jaw and ordered, "Stand your ground, Pinsir. Take the attack!"

The stagbeetle nodded and crossed its arms over its face and body, blocking the stars from hitting anything vital. The attack hurt, but not as much as it could've

"Now, while they're distracted. Staryu, gain some altitude with Rapid Spin, then use Watergun!"

Staryu let out a 'Hyaa' as it began to spin fast enough to barely lift it off the ground.

"Stop it with Smack Down!"

Pinsir immediately picked up a rock and threw it at Staryu, intent on taking it out of the air. The attack hit head on, knocking Staryu back.

"Good thing you're not a flying type.. Water gun Staryu, then try again!" Ash commanded.

Staryu nodded its 'head' as it stood back up and shot a watergun three of its appendages. The attack was too quick for Pinsir , who took the water head on. The water type then began rapid spin again and this time was able to get more airborne.

"Smack Down again!"

"Water Gun while spinning!"

As Pinsir through another rock at the now rapidly spinning starfish, it retaliated with a flurry of water, which not only knocked the Rock out of the air, but also bombarded Pinsir, knocking it backwards again.

"Pinsir!" Samurai called out worriedly as his pokemon shakily stood back up, 'he's good.. better than I expected.. his pokemon are not that strong yet, but he's smart and has excellent strategy..'

Ash just smirked, inwardly beaming at the mental praise the boy was giving him, "Ok, Staryu, Swift, then finish this with rapid spin!"

Using the momentum of the spinning already in progress, Staryu sent another wave of sharp, bright stars at the bug type, again scoring a direct hit. Then as a final nail in the coffin, the starfish began rapidly spinning towards Pinsir, who was barely standing and in no condition to dodge. The attack barreled right into the stagbeetle, knocking it out.

"YES!" Ash cheered as Staryu came to a stop in front of him, visibly exhausted from keeping up the attacks for so long. As Ash brought it in for a hug, Staryu slumped into his arms, giving off positive vibes. Although Ash couldn't understand it completely yet, somehow he knew that it was happy.

"Pinsir, return!" Samurai said as he returned his pokemon, then smiled at the ball, "you fought well.."

He then looked over at Ash, who was making sure that his pokemon was ok, and smiled before walking over. Noticing the boy come closer, Ash stood up with Staryu standing next to him.

"You know, for a novice, you're not half bad. You used your brains when you were lacking the brawn. I was especially surprised with the move you used with Caterpie." the Samurai said to him, making the boy smile.

"Thanks," Ash said with a nod as he offered his hand. Samurai nodded, and went to accept the shake.

"HEY!" when Misty interrupted, startling both boys. They almost forgot she was there..

The angry red head then turned towards the armored boy, "Ok, you battled both of us. Now will you please tell us what the point of all this was? And don't say you would believe the better battler, Ash just got lucky!" she said as she glared at him, making both boys sweatdrop.

"Of course, I will explain.." Samurai started, "the point of the battles was to not only observe your battling styles and your pokemon, but to also bring the truth to light."

"Huh?" both Ash and Misty said, confused. This time, Ash was legitimately confused. For once, he couldn't read someone. The Samurai's mind was relatively blank..

"For one, during our day together yesterday, Misty told me several things. Firstly, about how she was a gym leader and a very strong water pokemon trainer. Secondly, how he was abandoned by her traveling partner, who dumped her as soon as he found out about her fear of bugs, and left her to fend for herself. She then begged me for my help in finding that person and demanding justice," he said gesturing to Ash, "Then I come across the accused abandoner, and he tells me a completely different story.. That the two of you were never traveling together and that Miss Misty was only using him for her own selfish desires.."

"And you believe me, right?!" Misty looked up at him, putting on an innocent 'chibi' look...

 _"I think I'm going to be sick.."_ Abra uttered before retreating into Ash's bag again, making the boy chuckle lightly, 'don't lose your lunch in there..' he said before turning back to the Samurai. So far, the boy's thought's did not give any clues as to where he was going with this,... until the last minute..

"I have decided... Ash.." he turned to the boy, who went a little wide eyed, "You are telling the truth.." he said with a smile.

"WHAT?!" Misty screeched... again, "How could you believe him over me?! He's nothing but another master wannabe!"

Both boys glared at her before Samurai spoke, "you showed your true colors during your battle with Poliwag. Not only was that pokemon poorly taken care of and poorly trained, but anyone could see that it was in no condition to battle!"

"B-But.." Misty stuttered, taken aback, "But what about Starmie huh? As you could see he was in perfect condition!"

"Yes he was.." the Samurai continued, "further evidence of your neglect and selfish desires."

"WHAT!" Now her face was turning red, which made Ash hide a chuckle

"It is obvious that you are one of those trainer that likes to play favorites, giving all of your love and attention to one or two pokemon while the others suffer. And what little attention you do give to your other pokemon is probably minimal or negative." the older boy said while crossing his arms

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" She yelled, hurting their ears

"Furthermore.. it also confirmed another part of what Ash said, about how you have been after his Staryu in order to get the set."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" She was screaming now, making Ash plug his ears after recalling Staryu to rest.

"I know enough," he said while giving Ash a smile, "I can see why you have been trying to escape her. I wish you luck with that.."

"HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled before going off again, yelling stinging words and insults at both boys while screaming at the top of her lungs, making both boys cover their ears

It was then that Ash sensed something in the forest..an angry something...no.. a LOT of Angry somethings.. the voices of at least a hundred..!

The Samurai growled, "Miss you MUST keep your voice down or you'll-"

"Too late!" Ash cut the Samurai off before pulling him into a nearby bush.

"Huh?!" Misty blinked as she watched them "HEY! DON'T HIDE FROM ME!"

"SHHHH! Keep your voice down!" Ash said in a harsh whisper.

"Yes, or you'll attract them.." Samurai followed up

"Who?!" She glared at them before she heard it.. and froze up cold before slowly turning around.

Behind her was at least a hundred Beedrill, all glaring right at her. Their sharp appendages gleamed in the patches of sun that filtered through the trees.

As Ash watched the scene from the safety of the bushes, he heard overheard them all talking angrily about the loud human that needed to be shut up. Although he couldn't agree more, he didn't think even Misty deserved this.

Then, before he could think of something, he noticed that Misty's mind froze up and went completely blank, and the girl did something they weren't but should've been expecting..

..She fainted..

Seeing that the loud and offensive human was now defeated and finally quiet, the hive retreated back to their nest to celebrate another easy victory. After a good ten minutes, Ash and the Samurai emerged from the bushes.

"That was a close one.." Ash whispered, now reveling in the new calm of the forest.

The Samurai nodded, "Yes it was, and thank you for alerting me to the incoming threat.. How did you know they were coming?"

"I... have good ears.. excellent hearing" he half- lied, pointing to his ears to further drive the point. luckily the other boy bought it.

"Very well then. Come, it is getting late, and the Beedrill may return. You and the loudmouth Maiden was welcome to stay in my cabin for the night." the armored boy offered, "as long as you stay quiet.."

"Not a problem for me.." Ash said with a chuckle.

With that decided, Ash and the Samurai carried Misty back to his cabin, carefully avoiding the various nests and hostile bug types thanks to Ash's 'excellent hearing.'

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It took them about half an hour to reach Samurai's cabin, and by the time they got there, the sun was just starting to set.

The inside of the Samurai's cabin was what you would expect of a small cabin in the middle of the forest. It was relatively small, just enough room for the necessities, like a bed and a food cabinet. There was also a throw rug on the floor and a caddy full of swords similar to the one the cabin's owner was already carrying. There was also a small oil lantern on the table that provided light for the whole room.

Once the boys had placed Misty under a cover in the corner, they sat down and shared a drink of water as they engaged in small talk. Samurai had removed his armor, showing that he had very calm, almost lazy black eyes, and a serious yet gentle looking expression.

"So," Samurai started, "How long have you been a trainer?"

As the young boy took a sip of his drink, he thought, "hmm.. about a week I guess?"

At that answer, the older boy went wide eyed before smiling, "considering how you battled, that's pretty impressive.. still, I could tell that most of your pokemon look very young."

Ash just nodded, "yea, we're not very experienced yet, but we're getting there."

Samurai nodded, 'he's wise beyond his years..' he then asked, "do you have any preferences pokemon wise?"

To that question, Ash frowned, going into deep thought ,"hmm.. I'm not sure.. maybe once I develop my team more.."

"possibly.." Samurai said, "but I do see a trend.." he nodded to Abra, who was sleepy next to Ash's backpack, "Your starter is a Psychic type.. your strongest pokemon is a water type that becomes part psychic upon evolution... and Metapod, when it becomes a Butterfree, can learn certain psychic type moves.."

At that realization, Ash went wide eyed. He hadn't even realized that. "well, that's certainly something to look into.. don't know if I want to specialize yet though.." he then turned to the older boy, "What made you want to specialize in bug types?"

The older boy chuckled as he went down memory lane, painting a picture for Ash's mind to see, "for me, it was a given.. The art of capturing, raising, and training bug type pokemon has been a tradition in my family for years. My father was a true master of them in his day," he said as he thought of his father proud and strong form.

He then frowned, "Many people think of bug types as weak, useless pokemon with no potential. My family seeks to end that misconception, by proving that Bug type pokemon have hidden strengths that only the best of trainers can unlock."

At his speech, Ash merely nodded. It was true, after all. Many trainers looked down on bug types because of their fragility. Very few bug types were even considered 'worthy' in the eyes of most trainers.

"Allow me to give you some advice that may help you down the road." The Samurai said with a smile, "Least I could do for you giving me such a tough battle, as well as helping me with the Beedrill."

Ash quickly returned the smile and nodded, "I could always use some advice.."

The older boy nodded, "You are smart, and your pokemon seem to trust you an like you, but training is always important. Remember, it is important to train a pokemon in all aspects of battle. And there are many factors to consider: physical strength, specialty power, speed, agility, endurance in both attacking and taking attacks. There is also studying and knowing what type advantages there are and what abilities each pokemon have and what they do"

Ash nodded as he took a notepad out of his backpack and wrote down what the boy was saying. It was good advice to remember, albeit a bit basic. Still, it was good to have it written down so it'll be easier to remember..

"Also, if you do decide to specialize, you have to dedicate yourself to that type. You have to truly believe that it is the strongest, most dominant type out there.." he then smirked, "of course, if you do go the Psychic route, you won't stand a chance against me and my bug type team."

Hearing that, Ash went wide eyed, before smirking himself, "oh really now.. alright then, how about this. Once I build my team and get stronger, I'll come back here for a rematch with you. Deal?" he asked as he held out his hand, which the Samurai eagerly took, smiling, "Deal!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It was about an hour before dawn, but still, Ash decided that it was time to leave before a certain irate redhead woke up. Abra was still sleeping in his backpack and would most likely remain there for most of the day.

As he finished getting ready and was heading out, Samurai met him at the door.

Ash smiled at the boy, "Thank you for letting me stay here for the night."

"The pleasure was all mine," the boy said, waving him off, "Now, just follow my directions and you will see Pewter City before noon."

The young trainer nodded as he looked down the path he was supposed to take, then turned back to his new friends, "Thanks," he then frowned as he looked at the backroom where Misty still slept, "what are you gonna do about her?"

At the question, Ash felt the Samurai's thoughts turn somewhat irritated, 'good question.. what will I do with such an insufferable girl..' Ash several somewhat evil thoughts went through the boy's head, Ash had to resist going wide eyed...he had to REALLY resist.. who knew the boy in front of him could have such a deviant side...

"I'll think of something.." he finally said without breaking his stoic expression, making Ash sweat drop.

"Heheh.. well I better get going.." he said as he kept his composure, "but one day I will return for that rematch!" he said as he started to head down the road, clearing the Samurai's thoughts from his head.

He didn't really know what he would do once he got to Pewter, since he didn't think his team was ready to take on the gym. What he really wanted to do was visit Cerulean to get some advice about Staryu, and then Saffron for some help with his 'gift'.

"we'll cross that bridge when we come to it I guess.." he said to himself.

His first week of being a trainer had been successful, if not without its bumps and hitches. Still, he couldn't say it was boring. Still.. he could definitely live without meeting that egotistical redhead, and could only hope that their paths would never meet again.

'Fat chance' a voice came from his backpack, making the boy chuckle. Yes this will definitely be an interesting journey.. and hopefully..

'I'll find a place where I belong..'

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **AAAANNND DONE! PHEW!**

 **Ok, so despite my best efforts, I am still averaging about 1 chapter a week. I'll try harder, but ...with the way work's been going...yea x.x**

 **But hey, that's why I try to make these high quality, so it's worth the wait.. right?**

 **Anyways, Favorites and reviews appreciated. Flames will be extinguished by the Squirtle Squad!**


	4. Chapter 4: Badge or No Badge?

**Time for some more mind tricks! MUAHAHAHA!**

 **..nah, just good clean fun, I promise!**

 **Today, Ash and his crew will be visiting Pewter City, will Ash just be passing through? or will he get a badge?**

 **Lets read and see.**

 **Oh, and no Misty this chapter, YAY!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Pewter City.. The City of Stone..

And it fit its name perfectly. Most of the buildings seemed to be made of grey stone or rock-like materials. Despite the like color, though, each building had its own design or flare that made it different from all the other buildings around it.

"This seems like a nice place.." Ash said as he stood on a hill overlooking the city. He took in a deep breath before beginning to walk into town

 _"I'm just glad to be out of that Arceus forsaken forest.."_ said a slightly irritable female voice from his shoulder

Her comment made Ash chuckle, "oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. We made new friends.."

 _"sure.. in between angry hoards of beedrill and an irate red head, we met a weird armored bug boy and a caterpillar-turned cocoon.."_ Abra said as she huffed

"hey now, don't be so rude!" Ash said with a serious look on his face, "Metapod is your team member and our friend. Remember that."

"Careful boy..people get nervous quick around someone who talks to himself.." a new, gruffer voice spoke.

Looking towards the source of the new voice, Ash and Abra saw an older looking man, dressed in a red tank top, dirty brown pants, a beanie on his head, and a very rough beard around his face. He sensed that the man was somewhat weirded out by him supposedly talking to himself, though didn't show it outwardly.

"Oh I wasn't talking to myself," he said as he tried to correct the situation, "I was talking to my Abra here. She communicates in my mind. I just forget to do the same sometimes.." he said as he scratched the back of his head.

The bum-looking man just stared at him for a moment before saying, "You know.. that only makes you sound weirder..," making Ash and Abra sweatdrop.

At that moment, the little Psi pokemon let out a Yawn. Was it time for a nap already?

Noticing it, the man frowned, "Your Abra looks like it could use some rest. Come on, I'll show ya to the Pokemon Center."

"Oh, thanks!" The boy said gratefully. Upon reading the man's surface thoughts, he saw the man was sincere... mostly.. There was also a big part of his thoughts that was obsessed with seeing Nurse Joy and.. .. eww, creepy...not going there!

Thanks to the man, Flint was the name he read, they made it to the Center in almost no time, and was promptly greeted by Nurse Joy, "Welcome to the Pokemon Center. How may I help you today?"

That's what came out of her mouth.. but thanks to his gift, Ash heard this..

'Oh no, not that pervert again. Probably using that poor naive boy as an excuse to come here. Maybe I should call Jenny.. then again that only seemed to turn him on more.. eww..'

Despite the fact that Ash always tried his hardest not to reveal his secret, he couldn't help but go wide-eyed at the nurse's train of thought. It only took one look at the man to confirm that Joy had a good reason for thinking that.. the man was practically drooling, his thoughts merely chanting 'Nurse Joy... Ohhhhh... Nuuurse Joooy..' over and over. By this point, the poor woman was visibly grimacing.

Having seen enough, Ash decided to say something, "is there something going on between you and nurse Joy? Cuz' she doesn't look happy to see you.." he asked with a raised eyebrow and slightly disturbed look.

Caught off guard by the boy's question, Flint was snapped out of his trance and looked at him, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"..Suuurre" Ash said as he rolled his eyes and approached the desk, "hello, Nurse Joy, how are you?" he asked, before looking behind him at Flint, who seemed to be having an internal battle with himself as what was the best moment to approach Nurse Joy, "Uhh.. does that guy bother you a lot?"

To his question, the nurse just sighed, "well, he isn't exactly a welcome sight at the center.. but don't worry, he doesn't show up every day!" she said, keeping her happy face on, '..anymore..' she thought with an inward sigh..

After summing up the situation, Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have a pervert that couldn't take a hint stalk you... WOAH! Bad thoughts!

"By the way," the nurse said, break him from his thoughts, thankfully.. "have you seen those posters over here?" she said as she pointed towards the wall. Looking over, Ash saw several posters up, advertising for several events. One was for the famous Indigo Conference, another was for an event new to Kanto, called Pokemon Contests. A third one that Ash noted was for several small tournaments that were being held throughout the region, with great prizes for the top three.

After the studying the posters for a few moments, Ash nodded, "I've heard about the League and the tournaments, but can you tell me what pokemon Contests are about?"

"Certainly," she responded with a nod, "Pokemon Contests are a new Pokemon themed event that originated in the Region of Hoenn. In contests, Pokemon and their trainers, who are called Coordinators, work together to make a variety of moves and combinations to show off their pokemon's strengths and abilities. The first round is usually the performance round, while the rest of the rounds are usually contest battles."

"Contest battles?"

"mhm.. they're almost like pokemon battles, only you must keep in mind to not only make your pokemon moves look beautiful, but to also keep your counters and dodges beautiful and graceful as well. "

"Hmm.." the young trainer hummed to himself. He didn't exactly know what to think of contests.. maybe it was something to at least look into..

"Thanks for the info, Nurse joy. But for now, I think I'll just focus on building up my team and getting to Saffron." he told her, to which she only smiled, "good idea to build your team up first, but why Saffron City may I ask?"

"uhh.." Ash said, trailing off, not sure what to say in response to her question, "...My uncle lives there... he runs a business that he needs help with, and even offered me a place to stay," he lied. Last thing he wanted to do was say that he was a homeless orphan with nowhere to go except the Psychic school because of his strange gift...

..man that's depressing...

"Oh I see," the nurse replied, "Well, in that case, I'll be happy to heal and check your pokemon for you if you like, and if you ever change your mind, just come talk to me. Maybe while you're here, you can check out our region-famous Museum."

"Museum?" he asked curiously, seeing some images of the building and what it looked like within Joy's mind, "sounds awesome, and yes I would like you to make sure my pokemon are ok." he said as he gave her two pokeballs and fished a sleeping Abra out of his backpack.

"Aww, how cute!" Joy said as she took them into the back

"yea.. cute.." the young trainer smirked. Cute wasn't exactly how he would describe Abra given her spitfire personality.

Within a few minutes, the nurse was back with his pokeballs, and Abra.. who was still sleeping unsurprisingly.

"here you are! Your pokemon are in perfect health," the nurse said with a sunny smile.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he returned the smile before collecting his friends and heading out. Though, not before giving the still lovestruck Flint a stern glare and a clear message, "do yourself and your health a favor and stay away from Nurse Joy, or else I will call a cop and it won't be officer Jenny!"

That was enough to snap the man out of his trance and give the boy a surprised look. How did he know about Jenny? Was it that obvious that he likes his ladies? He knew he was a bit of a pervert but still..

Gah!... Maybe it was best to head the boy's warning... for now anyway...

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

It didn't take long to find the Museum, considering that it was one of the largest and most impressive buildings in Pewter.

After paying the entry fee and getting a rundown of the rules, the young trainer decided to look around for something that may interest him. As he maneuvered through the rooms and the crowds of tourists, he let his mind wander.. if anything to distract his mind from reading the numerous thoughts in the room and save himself a headache.

'Even though I said I wanted to build my team up first, it is awfully tempting to just go try the gym and see how I do..' he thought to himself, 'the Pewter Gym is a Rock type gym, and if I'm not mistaken, the Gym Leader's main pokemon is an Onix... Well, I do have Staryu.. who has an obvious type advantage, but it.. actually I'm getting the vibe that it's a she.. still needs work on perfecting rapid spin...'

He was brought out of his train of thought when a brightly lit display caught his eye.

The background of the display was a huge mountain cutout with a starry night sky. In front of that was a display strange looking rocks and stones of various colors.. in fact, they almost seemed to radiate those colors like a small prism.

But that's not what caught Ash's eye. Around the rocks were little pinks statues and various display pictures of one pokemon that Ash had been wanting to meet for some time.. Clefairy.

They are considered the first true Fairy type, and one of only two fairy types found in Kanto besides the Jigglypuff line. It's also one of the rarest and least known about Pokemon besides the Legendaries themselves, making it all the more mysterious and fascinating. Several stories and theories are out there, but very few really have a leg to stand on.

As Ash looked over the details of the display, he found three little information windows nearby and read them, the first one was right in front:

 _ **MOUNT MOON DISPLAY:**_

 _Mount Moon is a large, dark, and mysterious mountain that lies in between Pewter City and Cerulean City. Thanks to years of tunneling from various pokemon, including the gigantic Onix, the inside of mountain consist of a maze-like tunnel system that can stretch for miles and is easy to get lost in. It is also considered a rite of passage for young upcoming trainers to make their way through Mount Moon's tunnels to the other side_.

The second window was right in front of a Clefairy Figure.

 _ **MOUNT MOON POKEMON:**_

 _Mount moon is home to numerous types notcurnal pokemon who have adapted to, or prefer the darkness. These types include_ _ **Paras, Sandshrew, Geodude, and Zubat**_ _. The mountain is also said to be the home of the rare, mysterious, and sought after_ _ **Clefairy line**_ _. Although many legends and stories surround this little- known about pokemon, there have been very few sightings and_ _ **no reports**_ _of successful capture._

The third window was right in front of one of the shining rocks.

 _ **THE MOONSTONE:**_

 _Mount Moon is also well known for holding the_ _ **Moon Stone**_ _, which it was adapted its name from. Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, a_ _ **meteor**_ _fell from space and crashed right through the center of Mount Moon. As no meteor was ever found, the validity of this legend is skeptical, but many believe it to be true. However, it is well known that fragments of the_ _ **evolutionary stone**_ _of the same name do reside in the mountain in various areas. They are hard to find due to their_ _ **base color of black**_ _combined with the darkness of the cave. However, moonstones do give off a_ _ **colorful sheen**_ _under the influence of moonlight._

As he read, Ash took in all the information he could. If he wanted to at least see a Clefairy, he would need all the info he could get. It also wouldn't hurt to get a couple moonstones for the future. No way in hell was he buying them.

As he committed the info to memory, the boy heard some stray thoughts that were directed towards him, then felt that same presence come closer, until whoever it was, was right next to him.

"So, you're interested in Mount Moon, huh?" a gruff but kind male voice asked.

As Ash stood straight up and turned towards the voice, he saw an older, taller male, that looked to be about 16 or 17. He had darker colored skin, dark brown hair up in spikes, and slanted eyes that almost looked closed. In fact.. now that Ash got a good look at him, he looked a little like Flint..

"Uhh.. yea!" Ash answered after a minute, "It'll be my next stop, and I wanted to know more about the pokemon that lived there.. especially Clefairy," he said as he looked over the display again, taking his eyes off the older teenager.

'Thought so.. another story chaser.. still, I don't want him ending up lost like the others..' the man thought, "I wouldn't waste your time..almost no one ever sees Clefairy. Just do yourself a favor and head straight through.."

"Oh don't worry about me, " Ash said with a small smile, "I'll be doing more homework on the mountain before I go so I'm not just chasing stories, and I'm going to invest in some more supplies so I don't get lost like other trainers have."

Hearing this, the man was understandably surprised. It was like the boy had read his mind.. or he was just very smart. Either way, the teen kept his surprise in check and just responded with a grunt, "well.. just make sure you're careful when going there.." he said, "oh, and by the way, are you taking on the gym challenge? I'm just curious.."

"I will be eventually," Ash answered, "but I want to build up my team first and get them stronger. I do have a pokemon that has a type advantage to this gym but I want to train her up first."

Hearing that, the man, from what Ash could sense his name was Brock, smiled and nodded, 'good, he's not another idiot noob that rushes into battle unprepared', he thought, "That's a good strategy. I wish more trainers thought like that."

Ash nodded lightly, before a wicked smirk spread on his face, "well, I don't want to be just another idiot noob that rushes into a gym battle unprepared." he said with an internal snicker. He didn't know where this side of him was coming from, but he kinda liked it.

Brock, on the other hand was slightly freaked out. The kid just pretty much reflected his thoughts word for word, "uhh..yea. My thoughts exactly..heh" he said before holding his hand out, "My names Brock, I help with the Museum displays," he greeted, telling a half-truth.

"My name's Ash, I actually just started my journey about a week ago," the boy said while shaking the man's hand.

Now, Ash may be able to read a person's surface and at times in depth thoughts just by looking at them, but when physical contact is made, like a handshake, his telepathic power increases tenfold. As long as that contact is held, he can see a person's life story, including their memories, their feelings towards certain things , and even their buried skeletons, which has scared him on more than one occasion.

With that five second handshake, Ash could tell this. Brock was not only someone that worked for the Museum, he was also the Pewter City Gym Leader. He had nine little brothers and sisters that he cared for almost 24/7 because his father, who looked familiar, abandoned them, and his mother vanished soon after. Sounded kind of familiar to what happened to him...sans the brothers and sisters..

He could also tell that, like someone else he just met, the teen had an unhealthy love for Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny.. though he was able to keep it on a better leash than Flint.

So overall, Brock wasn't a bad guy.. definitely a big brother figure.

"Nice to meet you, Brock" Ash said with a sunny smile, "you know.. you kinda look like the guy that led me to the Pokemon Center earlier.. same eyes and everything.." the boy said while rubbing his chin in thought.

"I do?" Brock asked with a frown and a raised eyebrow

"Yea.. only he looked a lot older and had a scraggly looking beard. And he kept giving Nurse Joy the creepiest looks. I hope she's ok.. I had to literally threaten the guy before I left not to mess with her."

"Really..." Brock said as he frown deepened. That's sounds an awful lot like..

*BOOM!*

Before anyone knew what had happened, an explosion occurred down the hall towards the back of the building, causing the alarms to go off.

"What the hell?!" Brock shouted before he took off towards the explosion, with Ash right behind him.

The room in question was one of the Museum's most popular rooms, the Fossil Room, which depicted fossils and bones of prehistoric pokemon from across the world.

From the smoky room, a old man staggered out, looking ragged and roughed up.

"Curator!" Brock yelled as he approached the man, "are you ok?"

"I'm fine..." the man said, "but those thieves.. they're taking all of the fossils!"

"Thieves?!" the Gym Leader shouted before taking off into the room. After making the sure curator was truly ok, Ash followed.

Within the Fossil Exhibit room, five men dressed in black with red R's on their chests were spread around, hurriedly and carelessly stuffing the fossils and other artifacts on display into large burlap sacks.

"Hurry up! Five minutes before the cops arrive!" One of them shouted, causing all of them to speed up their pace, not even caring if the fossils were damaged upon extraction.

"STOP THIS!" A voice shouted, causing all five to stop and turn towards the new presence.

Brock was angry.. very angry.. he, the curator and his family helped build the museum from the ground up, and their fossil collection took years to make.

"Who's that?" One thief asked pompously, while another looked apprehensive, "I think he's the.."

Brock didn't give him time to finish, "Onix GO! Stop these thieves!"

In a bright flash of light, the enormous rock snake made its presence known with a roar, shaking the whole building. Thanks to the high ceiling, there was just enough room for the big guy to move around and not break anything..

"Ha! We're prepared for you rock loving wierdos!" One of the grunts said before they all released their pokemon. Just as he said, all of the grunt were armed with either water or grass type pokemon. A Tentacool and Tentacruel, along with a Vileplume, Victreebell, and Parasect were present.

"Tentacool/Tentacruel, water gun!"

"Victreebell, razor leaf!"

"Parasect/Vilplume, Stun Spore!"

"Onix, quick, sweep them all with your tail!" Brock cried out to defend

The tactic worked, partly, as Onix's heavy tail worked like a battering ram, sweeping all of the enemy pokemon to the sides. Unfortuantely, it wasn't fast enough to stop the influx of Stun Spore.

"Onix, Look out!" Brock shouted. However, he saw that there was no way Onix would dodge and was preapred to call it back when..

"Staryu, use rapid spin/water gun combo to blow that stun spore away!"

In a flash of light, the brown starfish appeared, already spinning as it sprayed flew through the air. Once high enough, it went vertical and started shooting off its Water Gun attack, knocking down the Stun Spore as well as soaking the enemy pokemon.

"Huh? Ash?!" Brock said, surprised.

The boy smiled and gave him a thumbs up before turning towards the evil men, "So.. going by the R's on their chest, I'm guess that these guys are Team Rocket."

One of the men smirked, "that's right kid. I see that you've heard of us. If that's the case, then you should know better than to mess with the likes of Team Rocket."

"Actually," Ash started with a small smirk, "last time I fought you someone from your group, they were pretty easily defeated. They are aggressive, yes, but they were dumb. Kinda like you guys."

"Why YOU!" one of the other grunts you, "we'll teach you some respect! Victreebell, use-"

He was cut off as something landed on his back, seemingly from nowhere, stopping him cold from surprise.

"Huh?"

"What the.."

Ash couldn't help but let out a snicker, 'guess all the noise woke you up?' he thought

On the grunt's back was none other than the young trainer's starter and partner, the particularly cranky Abra, _"no, what was your first guess.."_ she said sassily, as the bopped the grunt on the head, making him see stars, before teleporting to the next one.

"Get that pest!" one of them shouted

"Forget it! we gotta get outta here! The cops will be here any minute!" the supposed lead grunt yelled

"Onix, don't let them get away! Rock Tomb!"

"Metapod, ties these guys up with String Shot!" Ash yelled, throwing out his third, and deceptively weak pokemon. Immediately , it began shooting its sticky string towards the Rocket grunts and their pokemon, trying to tie them up.

"Enough!" A grunt yelled, "Victreebell, RazorLeaf on the string shot then that pesky-YOW!" he couldn't finish his sentence as he was bonked on the head by Abra.

Still, the grass type got the message as it shot out multiple leaves at the string, cutting it and then at Metapod, knocking it back.

"Metapod!" Ash yelled as he caught his flying bug type, which made him fly backwards and to the ground from the momentum of the attack.

"ASH!" Brock yelled out, worriedly, which also distracted Abra from her task.. a costly mistake.

"Gotcha!" the grunt yelled as he grabbed Abra and slammed her to the ground, then yelled, "Vileplume, use Stun Spore on this thing!"

"Vile!" the grass type shouted as he prepared his attack.

"Geodude! Tackle that Vileplume!" Brock yelled as he released his second Pokemon, "Onix, use bind on the closest Rocket!"

"Victreebell, Razor Leaf on Onix!" a grunt shouted

"Parasect! Stun Spore that Geodude!" the first grunt snarled

"Abra! Teleport back to me!" Ash yelled as he stood up, cradling an injured metapod.

"No you don't! Tentacruel, restrain that pest!" the Lead grunt shouted.

"ABRA!" the Psychic type cried out in pain as the giant jellyfish wrapped two of its tentacles around her, wrapping her painfully. Thanks to the pain, she could not concentrate enough to teleport, _"Arceus damnit!"_

"Abra, NO!" Ash cried out worriedly to his pokemon.

It wasn't going well on Brock's side either, as his Geodude was stunned and Onix was taking damage from the Razor Leaves.

"Onix, do another sweep!" Brock called out desperately. They were losing ground, and quickly

"Staryu, help Abra! Use Swift on Tentacruel!" Ash yelled to his water type, who had been spraying at random targets. The Starfish pokemon immediately turned its aim towards the large Poison type and fired a flurry of stars. Since Swift is an attack that can't be dodged, Tentacruel was struck by the normal type attack, taking damage, but still holding onto Abra with a firm grip.

"Tentacool, Poison Sting on Staryu" The youngest grunt shouted

"Onix! Slam that Tentacool!" Brock countered as he gave Geodude a Pecha berry to cure his paralysis.

"Grr.. Victreebell, use-"

"Sir! the Cops are coming! They're in the building!"

"Damnit!" the lead grunt said, "We gotta get outta here.. leave the loot for another day! Tentacruel, toss that runt away!"

With a grunt, Tentacruel threw Abra to the ground, where it not so softly landed.

 _"Ugh..."_ the little Psi pokemon grunted, _"I get you for that.."_

"Abra!" Ash yelled as he ran to his pokemon

" I want some revenge before we go .." one grunt said with a smirk, " This should teach you not to mess with Team Rocket, punk.. Victreebell, Leaf blade on that little pest!" he shouted pointing towards Ash.

Without hesitation, the FlyCatcher Pokemon rushed towards Ash , who was still running towards Abra. Thanks to the chaos around him and his focus on his struggling starter, Ash didn't see the or feel the incoming danger. But Brock sure did

"ASH, LOOK OUT!" Brock yelled, getting the boy's attention. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Huh?" was all Ash could before he felt and saw the incoming attack.

"WAAHH!" he yelled as he crossed his arm in front of him

"METAPOD!" _("ASH!")_

*SLASH!*

Ash popped his eyes open, bewildered at hearing the attack hit but feeling nothing , and was horrified at what he saw.

His dear Metapod had taken the hit for him, and now had a deep gash right down the middle of her shell. She now laid on the ground, motionless.

"Metapod..." the young trainer whispered as he cradled his bug type, tears now falling from his eyes.

"Heh," the grunt laughed as he returned his grass type and followed his comrades, "consider this lesson learned, kid." she said cruelly before disappeared through the same hole they came in.

The fossils had been recovered, but at what price...

Within moments, Abra and Staryu were next to him, worried about their fallen comrade. Brock had also rushed over, along with, finally, Officer Jenny and her crew.

"Officer," Brock addressed, "the thieves got away through that hole in the wall, if you and your crew are quick enough, you may be able to catch them. They're supposedly from Team Rocket."

"Right," the officer said before leading her team through the wall to pursue the Rockets.

Ash was oblivious to all of this as he held his teammate close, "Metapod.. please..please be ok..." he whimpered. Staryu and Abra looked saddened as well, until the little psychic perked her ears, _"What a minute... it's not dying... it's..."_

Before she could finish, the now exposed gash area on Metapod's shell started to glow and the gash opened up even more. Ash and Brock both looked on in awe at what was happening. Within moments, the entire form of Metapod was glowing, and then shifting.

"..it's evolving.." Ash said barely above a whisper

The glowing form grew larger, and rounder, and sprouted a pair of antennae. Little blue hands and feet appeared in their proper places on its torso. The last thing to form was a large pair of white and black, gossamer wings that sprouted from the back. Within seconds, the glow faded, and a completely new pokemon was now fluttering in front of them.

Seeing his pokemon, not only evolved but happy and healthy, Ash cried, but this time they were tears of joy.

"Butterfree.." he said as he reached out to touch her new little hands and feet, "you're beautiful.."

"FReeeee!" _("Thank you!")_ she said happily, "Free Freee?" _("Are you ok though?")_

Ash softly nodded and brought her in for a hug, "I'm fine.. I was so worried about you!"

"Freeee Freee!" ("I've never felt better!")

Witnessing the scene, Brock couldn't help but smile. The whole thing was heartwarming. Still, as he looked around at what was the Fossil exhibit, he couldn't help but frown. The entire room was a wreck. The walls were cracked and had larges pieces missing; the floor was completely torn up from all of the attacks; all of the glass exhibits had been broken; and broken fossils now littered the floor.

At least they were able to stop Team Rocket from actually stealing any of them...

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Later that night at the Center, Ash, Brock, and their teams were taking a well deserved rest. Butterfree, thankfully, was perfectly healthy, and no lasting trauma had been done by the Leaf Blade.

Abra was ok as well. If anything, she was even more irritable than earlier. Joy said it was from lack of sleep, but somehow Ash didn't think that was the problem.

 _"If I ever see that blasted Tentacruel again, I'll kill him!"_

thought so..

"Don't worry. You and I are gonna train and get stronger. So far you haven't really been in an actual battles, but that's gonna change. No more excuses!" Ash said to her sternly

With a final growl, Abra took a deep breath and sighed, _"Yea, I guess you're right.. Alright, no more excuses. We need to get stronger so that never happens again!"_

'Wow, he really understands his pokemon..' a few people that were watching him thought, with some giving him suspicious glares.

For now, the young telepath ignored the random thoughts and focused on his pokemon.

Staryu was just fine after some rest, and was happy when Ash took the time to shine her, yes her, jewel, like Nurse Joy told him to.

Ash he looked over his team of three, Ash had a thought, "say.. do you think you guys would want some names?"

All three of his pokemon looked at him with tilted heads, or in Staryu's case, its 'head' appendage

"well, each of you have your own personalities and traits, so why not have your own unique names. I think it would help us be closer as a family." he said with a smile

 _"True.. that and it would be advantageous in a battle if you call out a personal name and not our species names.."_ Abra said

"True too..let's see..." he said in thought, before smiling, "Staryu, I know what I'll name you.."

The water star turned her body towards him

"Nenet," Ash said with a nod, "I think it means Sea Goddess or something like that. It fits you perfectly"

In response, Staryu, now named Nenet, flailed her appendages as her jewel blinked a few times. She liked the name

"Now let's see.. for you Butterfree.." he said as he thought for a sec, "How about Skye. Since you got those wings, you haven't stopped hovering in the air."

" _Yes! I love the name!"_ The bug type said happily, _"From now on, call me Skye!"_

After sharing a chuckle at the now named Skye's enthusiasm, Ash turned to his starter, "As for you, Miss Abra.."

Abra tensed as she wondered what name her trainer could've possibly thought of for her

"How about..Sage," Ash decided

 _"...Like the seasoning?"_ Abra asked with a sweatdrop, making Ash chuckle

"No no, A sage is also defined as a very wise person that people confine in for advice and information. That's kinda like what you've been doing we me since we started our journey isn't it?"

 _"Hmm..."_ the little psychic fox thought on it, _"I suppose so.. alright then..Sage it is"_ she said with a nod

"Then its settled." the boy said with a nod, before sensing that Brock was approaching.

"Hey Brock," Ash greeted, "meet my newly named pokemon, Sage, Sky, and Nenet."

In response, the teenager chuckled, "nice to meet you all."

The young trainer nodded before continuing, "everyone, meet Brock, the Gym Leader."

"Huh?" Brock looked at the boy, blinking in slight shock, "Ash, I don't remember telling you that I was the Gym Leader. How did you know?"

"Uhh.." he stuttered, before laughing nervously, "haha.. oh don't be silly Brock, everyone knows the famous Pewter City Gym Leader. " he said as he scratched the back of his head nervously, hoping that that was enough to cover up his slip.

 _"Smooth.. you really need to work on that.. or get some acting lessons.."_ Sage said with a sweatdrop

'hush..'

"Oh.. ok.." Brock said, although it was obvious that he was still suspicious. Still, he shrugged it off and smiled, "in that case, this'll be a lot more simple. I know you said that you wanted to build up your team first, but after your performance against the Rockets, I'm curious to see what you can do," he then stepped forward, "So what do you say? You wanna try out that gym battle?"

"really?" Ash asked, a little surprised, then smiled, "isn't it usually the other way around? Aren't I supposed to be the one challenging you?"

"Haha.. yea, but I'm willing to bend the rules here. What do you say?" the Gym Leader asked again

After a moment to think and consulting his team, Ash nodded, "sure.. doesn't hurt to try!"

"That's the spirit!" Brock nodded, "In that case, meet me at the Gym tomorrow at 9 o clock, sharp. Ok?"

"Got it!"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Ash and his team spent a good part of the night thinking up strategies and counterstrategies, preparing for their first gym battle.

Even though Nurse Joy gave Skye the all clear after her evolution, Ash was still a little apprehensive about letting her battle. So they made the decision.. Sage the Abra would have her debut here, with Nenet being the other definite due to her type advantage.

"Ok.." Ash said with a yawn, "I think we're good... are we all ready for bed?"

 _"Yup!" "definitely.."_ "Hyaa!"

With that said, they all went to bed, their minds buzzing about tomorrow.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/

The next day couldn't come soon enough, as Ash and his team were up with the sunrise.

After some morning stretches and last minute strategizing, the young trainer recalled his team and headed towards the gym.

It only took about ten minutes, with the help of some friendly bystanders, to find the place.

The gym itself wasn't all that impressive looking. In Ash's opinion, it looked like a couple of giant boulders pinned together with a door in front of it.

With a small shrug, the young trainer opened the door and walked inside.

The inside was pitch black, to the point where Ash could barely see his hand in front of his face.

Still, he felt that Brock was here, somewhere over on the other side of the building. He also felt the presence of several other unknowns, possibly Brock's family. Then, right before he was about to call out for Brock to turn the lights on, he heard this..

'Hehe.. time for some intimidation!'

A loud thought.. obviously Brock's

"WHO GOES THERE!" the older male's voice boomed through the darkness.

Now, to anyone else, that would be pretty intimidating, but to Ash..

"Come on Brock! Cut the act, it's me!"

"Uhh... eheheheh... Sorry about that Ash..", said a sheepish sounding Brock as the lights finally cut on, "I like to do that with new trainer to test their nerve. Obviously you have a lot of it."

the raven haired boy smirked, "well that, and I was kind of expecting it, seeing how we met yesterday."

"Heh.. yea I guess..." The teenager said as he scratched the back of his head, "Anyways, ready to get started?"

"More than ready!" Ash said confidently.

"Alright then, are you aware of the rules of a gym battle?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Ash said in 'thought', "You do two on two battles and only I can switch, right?"

"Correct." the Leader said, visibly impressed, before turning to the referee, Forrest, "ok, little Bro, that's your cue."

"Right!" the mini Brock boy said, "this will be a 2-on-2 battle between the Gym Leader Brock and Challenger Ash Ketchum. As mentioned before, the challenger may switch, while the Gym Leader may not. Understood?"

They both nodded

"Then Begin!"

"Let's go! Geodude, I choose you!" Brock yelled as he threw his first pokeball.

In a flash, a pokemon that literally looked like a rock with a face and arms appeared.

"Geodude!" it said, though Ash heard, _"Battle Time!"_

"Alright then, Nenet, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he threw his own pokeball. In a flash, the gemmed starfish appeared, already spinning and ready to go.

At this, Brock raised a brow, 'he's calling out his Ace as first choice? I wonder who his second will be..Oh well, let's start with the usual...'

"Geodude, start with Rock Throw!"

Ash reacted almost instantly, "Nenet, Spin up and counter with Swift!"

With a small nod of her appendage, Staryu began her Rapid Spin to gain altitude. Then, as Geodude continued to haul rocks at her direction, the flying star began to emit a wave of bright yellow stars from her central jewel.

'Not bad..' Brock thought, "Geodude, we can't dodge this! Brace yourself with defense curl!"

The living rock complied by crossing his arms in front of his face. The incoming flurry of stars pushed the Rock Pokemon back, but thanks, to Defense Curl, the damage was cut in half.

"Water gun!" Ash yelled, not giving the gym leader time to breathe. Almost instantly, Nenet lowered herself to the ground again, then fired three simultaneous streams of water at the still guarding Geodude.

'Get out of the way..' "Geodude, Rollout to dodge, then attack!"

"Nenet, Run and gun!" Ash called out, confusing Brock a bit

'Run and Gun? What the hell.. !' he thought loudly as he observed the Staryu spin and take to the air again "Geodude, keep up the Rollout, dodge whatever comes your way!"

So it began. Geodude continuously rolled around the field as Staryu haphazardly spun through the air, shooting water all around the field. Since, Staryu's Rapid Spin was still kind of shaky, the Rock type managed to bob and weave through most of the unsteady streams, though he did get tagged by three of them, knocking him off course and slowing him down.

"Keep it up, Geodude!" Brock encouraged his pokemon.

"Lead the shot, Nenet! Slow down a little and aim if you have to!" Ash instructed.

As Geodude kept rolling, Nenet slightly slowed down her rotation and aimed her appendages more accurately. Following her trainer's orders, she followed the rock type's pathway and lead her shot.

"Geodude, turn!" BRock called out. Unfortunately it was too late.

"GEO!" The rock type cried out as he was blasted backwards

"Geodude!" BRock cried out in concern as his pokemon was blasted backwards.

"Finish this with another Water Gun" Ash said with a board smile. Upon landing, Nenet seemed to 'take a deep breath before shooting a powerful Watergun at the dazed Geodude, who had no chance to dodge.

"DUDE!" the little rock yelled in pain as it was smash into a nearby boulder, turning it into rubble. The end result was a knocked out Rock.

"Geodud is unable to Battle!" Forrest announced, "This round goes to Staryu!"

"Awesome job, Nenet!" Ash congratulated his water type, who was starting to show some visible signs of exhaustion. Staying in the air for so long with Rapid Spin was tiring!

As he recalled his pokemon, Brock couldn't help but smile, "not bad, Ash, not bad at all!" He praised, "but are you ready for my next Pokemon?!"

"You mean Onix?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow, making Brock sweatdrop

"Oh yea.. you met him yesterday.." the sheepish leader said, "No Matter! All the more reason you should be ready! Go Onix!" he said as he threw the ball.

Within seconds, the mammoth rock snake appeared with a roar, before staring down at Ash and Staryu

After sizing up their new opponent, and a quick mental conversation, Ash nodded to his water type, "Just hang in there a little longer Staryu. I know you can do it!"

"Hyaa!" she yelled as her jewel flashed a few times.

'So he's sticking with Staryu eh? Is he trying to sweep me? Not very likely, or very smart..'

"I'll give you first move this time, Ash" Brock said while thinking, 'test two..let's see if he'll do what I think he will...Rapid spin?'

"Thanks Brock," Ash nodded, 'still, I gotta get this under control. It seems unfair that I can read his mind..'

 _'don't worry about it, just focus on the battle.._ ' Sage's voice told him

'Uhh.. right..'

"Alright, Nenet, let's start with Water gun! Aim for it's head!" Ash yelled

The jewel starfish nodded before releasing more water in a concentrated blast, aiming straight for Onix's dome.

"Block that with your tail!" Brock countered.

Onix roared, _"yeeeaaahhhh!"_ before bringing his tail up to block the stream of water, wincing slightly but mostly fine.

"Run and Gun!" Ash called for. Even though he had a feeling it would be much riskier, it was the best tactic he could think of. Nenet didn't hesitate as she skirted along the ground before getting up in the air with Rapid Spin. She then began shooting off streams of water from all five appendages, which only made her go faster. She was like a moving turbo sprinkler. The attack did its job, as Onix was hit with multiple blasts of water. Still, Brock stayed strangly calm

'Let's see how you handle this..' the gym leader thought before yelling, "Onix, use Smack down, then Tackle!"

"Uh oh.. Nenet, get to the ground, quick!" Ash yelled almost immediately. Unfortunately, it was too late, as Onix had already shot off the airborne rock, effectively grounding the poor Staryu.

"Nenet!" Ash called out to his pokemon, "He's coming in for Tackle! Give it a little bit more! Use Water gun head on!"

With some obvious effort, Nenet managed to stand, though panting heavily.. at least it looked like panting..

Just as Onix's attacking head was only a few yards away, the jeweled water type shot the most powerful water gun she could muster, which unfortunately wasn't saying much seeing that she was already exhausted.

The rock snake growled and groaned as he was hit dead on by the water attack. Still, it somehow persevered and pushed through the water, tackling Staryu into one of the walls.

"NENET!" Ash call out worriedly. Once the dust cleared, Nenet could be seen on the ground, unmoving, with her center gem blinking in distress.

"Staryu is unable to battle! Onix Wins!" Forrest called out, "Trainer, please send out your final pokemon!"

"Nenet, return!" Ash yelled as he quickly returned his pokemon, "you were awesome, I couldn't have asked for more." he said with a sad smile as he put the pokeball away. Then, as he looked over Onix's hulking form, a small grin formed on his face before turning to his backpack, "Ready, Sage?"

With a quick unzipping of the backpack, the Psi Pokemon popped its head out before crawling out and taking to the field, _"Let's do this!"_

 _"Think you can take me, pipsqueak?"_ Onix asked with what looked like a smirk on its face

Sage just glared back with her seemingly closed eyes, _"Oh, I know I can.."_

Meanwhile, Brock looked on in thought, 'what's he up to? last time I checked, Abra only knew Teleport..'

"This is the final battle between Brock the Gym Leader and Ash Ketchum the Challenger. Winner of this round wins the match. Begin!"

"Ok, Onix, let's start this off with a bang, Rock Tomb!"

With a mighty roar, Onix complied and summoned several rocked to fall from above, right where Sage stood

Both Ash and Sage watched as the tail came for them before Ash called out, "Now!"

In the blink of an eye, the little Abra teleported, disappearing from view

"Keep an eye out, Onix!" Brock called, not surprised, 'might be time to use Dig..'

Ash wasn't about to give them the chance, as with a subtle nod, Abra reappeared.. right on top of Onix's head.

"What the..!" Brock said as he spotted her, "Onix, use Dig to get her off, then Bind!"

"Hang on tight, Sage!" Ash warned his starter as the rock type went underground, losing her grip slightly.

" _Easier said than done!"_ the Abra young shouted in his mind as she struggled to hand on to Onix.

Within a few moments, Onix had sprouted back up, and Abra was nowhere to be seen.

"Sage?" Ash asked cautiously, before thinking, 'Where are you?'

" _Right here.."_ said the little psychic fox as he crawled out from in between two of Onix's rocks, looking slightly battered, but mostly ok.

"Humph..hate to say it Ash, but I think your strategy is flawed. Onix, finish with Bind!" Brock yelled to his starter.

"Sage, teleport!" Ash yelled as a smirk formed on his face, 'feel like talkin some trash?'

 _'Live for it!'_ She nodded as she reappeared on Onix's back, " _heh, you're not exactly the smartest one of the bunch, are ya?"_

 _"What you say, pipsqueak?"_ Onix asked as he glared at her

 _"What, you got rocks in your ears as well as your head? I called you a dumbass"_

 _"Oh yea?!"_ Onix roared as he tried to grab her with his tail, only for the little Psi to teleport again, this time on top of his head. While up there, she began knocking on his head as if it were a door, " _woah, is it hollow in there? sure sounds like it? Where is your brain anyway? In your tail?"_

 _"GET OFF!"_ Onix roared as he tried to knock her off with his tail by slamming it into her.

"Onix DON'T!" Brock yelled. The warning came too late.

As soon as the tail was close enough, Sage teleported away again, causing Onix to hit nothing but his own head.

Everyone in the gym could only watch as Onix knocked himself for a loop.

"Come on Onix, snap out of it!" Brock urged.

Try as he could, Onix couldn't shake himself of the major headache and dizzy spell he just gave himself. When trying to look at the field, instead of one Abra, he saw 6!

 _"I'll get you for that! ALL OF YOU!"_

With that, the oversized Rock type began mindlessly tackling at the Abras in front of him. Thanks to his double vision, his accuracy was way off. With every miss, he only got angrier, which led to him completely ignoring Brock's desperate commands.

Suddenly, all of the Abra's disappeared, leaving Onix even more confused. " _huh, where did.."_

 _"Right here, big guy!"_ said a snickering Sage as she tapped him on his head crest.

 _"Huh...?! GET OFF ME!"_ Onix yelled as he thrashed his head around frantically. At one point Sage had her eyes wide open, something that many didnt think was possible, as she struggled to keep herself on her opponent's head.

 _"I SAID GET OFF!"_ Yelled the Rock type as he did possibly the dumbest thing he could've done... he tried to smash Abra off his head again...

With a mighty swing of his rocky tail

"NOOOO!"

*SMASH*

Within seconds, Sage had teleported back to Ash's side, looking tired, but accomplished. Meanwhile, Onix was wobbling dangerously from side to side, until finally , just like a tree, it fell over, knocked out.

After a long moment of silence, the results were announced, "Uhh...Onix is unable to battle! Abra wins! The victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Woah.. we won?...We WON?!" Ash said in disbelief before Sage teleported to his shoulder and bonked him on the head, _"Of course we did! Did you really ever doubt me?"_

"Heh, of course not." he said as he brought her into a light hug, "you were awesome.. both you and Nenet!"

"Ash," Brock said to get his attention as he came over, "I have to say, I wasn't expecting much when you sent Abra on to the field, but you proved me wrong. I can honestly say that this was one of the most interesting battles I've ever had!" he said as he scratched the back of his head.

"heh, yea.. not bad for my first gym battle!" Ash beamed

Brock nodded in agreement, "I agree. And, as proof of your victory here, I'd like to give you this," he said as he held up a gray octagon shaped object, "This is the Boulder badge, the official badge of Pewter.."

Seeing it fall into his hands, Ash couldn't keep the grin off of his face

He then held it up for Sage to see, "what do you think?"

The Abra stared at it for a second before saying, _"Nice.. now can we get out of here? I could use a good meal and a nap if you don't mind.."_

The young telepath could only chuckle and shake his head at that response before turning back towards Brock, "thank you for giving me the opportunity to battle you Brock. I gotta say it was the best battle I've had so far."

The teen just smiled, "oh don't worry. You'll have plenty more battles in your future that are more exciting than this one."

Ash just nodded in agreement, "anyways, I better get back to the Pokemon Center to get Nenet looked at, and to make sure that Pervy guy isn't messing with Nurse Joy.." he said with a deadpan look

At his comment, Ash felt a spike of a mix of emotions in the gym leader.. anger, curiousity..sadness? And a thought of ,'could this perv be who I think he is? I better check it out..'

"Actually.. maybe I should come with you," he said right after, "my pokemon need looked at too."

"Oh! Sure Brock.." he said as they left out the door, with Ash throwing Brock sideways glances every so often

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

it was only a 10 minute walk from the Gym to the Center, and in that time, Ash was able to get a deeper scoop of the situation thanks to a little mind detective work.

Apparently, Brock had a suspicion that he knew the perv, on a very close... familial level. And if he found the guy at the Center perving up Nurse Joy.. oh dear...

As they entered the Pokemon Center, the first thing they saw was, sure enough, the Pervy bum trying to chat it up with Nurse Joy, who was trying her best to ignore him.

When she spotted Ash and Brock in the doorway, she mouthed the words, 'Help Me!'

That was all the encouragement Brock needed

"Come on Nurse Joy.." the Pervy Flint said as he hung over the counter, "I'm honest when I say I have this terrible pain in my heart when I around you.." he said before putting on a smirk, "why don't you.. take me in the back and- GAWK!"

That was all Flint could say before his head was smashed into the counter, causing him to fall to the floor. As he laid there, his 'beard' came loose from his face, revealing more of his true identity.

Upon seeing this, Brock's eyebrows nearly shot up to his scalp, before he put on a scowl and ripped the perv's fake beard and hat off.

Now.. seeing the man's full face, it was clear who it was..

"So.." Brock said in a deadly sounding voice, "After all this time, this is how I find you.. a scraggly, perverted bum who doesn't even have to decency or honor to come home to the family that needs him!"

The older man shrunk back at Brock's words, before looking down in shame, "I..I'm sorry son..I was just too ashamed of my failures to come home and.."

"No.." Brock said, cutting him off, "You don't deserve to call me your son... not until you've redeemed yourself to me and the rest of Pewter!"

"I-I will!" Flint said as he got on his knees in front of his son in a praying posture, "I promise! .. I'll better myself! I'll become a good father again! I will!"

Brock just nodded, keeping his face in a frown, "good..Oh, And if I ever catch you in here harassing Nurse Joy.. or any other female for that matter, I'll have you castrated, got it?!"

Flint shrunk back at his son's harsh words, his hands unconsciously going to his crotch, but nodded.. he had no room to argue here, "Y-Yes...Brock.."

'Damnit... how did he figure out who I was, or that I was even in town?' Flint thought to himself. He wasn't ready to return home yet, not until he had a good enough story, which he sadly still lacked. It was then that Flint looked over to where Ash was standing and staring at him, 'was it him that told Brock? Possibly.. after that threat of the police earlier, he would definitely be a suspect..and he is a bit of an odd one..'

"HEY! Come on! We don't have all day!" Brock yelled as he made his way out of the Center.

"Uhh!" Flint uttered before standing up and running after BRock, "C-coming!"

Before he left completely, Brock waved and nodded to Ash, giving him a smile and a silent thank you, which the boy returned whole-heartedly.

After they left, he heard Sage's voice say _, "well that was weird.."_

'Not really,' Ash responded mentally as he approached the counter, 'If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. It explains why those two looked so much alike to begin with and where the perviness comes from'

 _"Maybe.. but I still think it's weird... and pitiful.."_

'heh.. just a tad...' he thought as he gave Nurse Joy Nenet's pokeball and placed Sage in on the counter to be examined.

Within minutes, they were both given a clean bill of health and an order to rest and take it easy for the night. All three agreed

After a good meal and a show, they headed to bed. The would head towards Mount Moon and Cerulean City in the morning, but for now, it was time to sleep

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"I see.. so you caught two of them?" Brock asked over the video phone. On the other end of the line was the Pewter City Officer Jenny giving him a rundown of what happened during Team Rocket's escape.

"Yes, but unfortuantely, three of the got away, including the supposed leader. They used a Wheezing's Explosion as a distraction.." she said distastefully, "Some of our pokemon were hurt in the explosion, but thankfully, not seriously"

"Sounds like something they would do," the Leader said with a frown

"We don't know if they have left or are still in the vicinity, so I suggest taking extra measures to make sure your family is safe, in case they do the unthinkable."

"Right," Brock said, "I'll do that.." with that , the connection was terminated.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

" _So the mission was a failure?"_ A calm but deadly voice echoed through the small room that three men in black were in. The source of the voice was a small portable vid phone on top of an old crate.

"Y-Yes sir.." the leader of the men said, "we ran into strong interference from the Gym Leader sir, and-"

 _"That is precisely_ _ **why**_ _I instructed you to take grass and water type pokemon with you. Pokemon that would have the advantage against a Rock Specialist."_

"We did sir! And we almost overwhelmed him, but there were others battling with the Gym Leader. They were able to hold us of until the Police arrived. By then we decided it would be wise to cut our losses and retreat-"

" _Without the fossils!"_ the dark voice snarled, making all three men jump back in fear.

"We- We had no choice sir.. the bag was too heavy and would've slowed up down immensely!"

 _"Humph!"_ the voice said in disgust, _"you're nothing but cowards, the lot of you... incompetent cowards.. And I am going to take a guess that you're escape wasn't smooth either.. seeing how there are only three of you, and not five.."_

"Err..." the lead grunt said as he started sweating bullets, "Emmerson and Killian were..apprehended by police during our escape.." As soon as the words left his mouth, the man knew they were all doomed

 _"FOOLS!"_ the voice said as a loud bang was heard, as if a fist had collided with something, _"IMCOMPETENT FOOLS! You could not have not screwed this up any worse!"_

"We-well, sir..we did cause a lot of damage and mayhem.." one of the other grunts said softly

"Y-Yeah! I bet we made front page news! Now people will know to fear Team Rocket!" the other, larger grunt said proudly.

 _"No, you morons!"_ The voice said again, " _They will see us as common criminals that are possibly beatable in battle. They will have more courage to rise against us!"_ he growled, _"as I said, you could not have messed this up more!"_

All three grunts looked down in shame, "P-please boss, give us another chance. Give us a chance to redeem ourselves!"

After a moment of silence, the dark voice spoke, _"very well.. one last chance.. if you mess this one up, consider yourselves grass!"_

"Yes sir!" all three said together

 _"Now.."_ the voice said.. _"Your next assignment.. will be at Mount Moon.."_

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **PHEW! Really did this take me two weeks to finish?! Damnit!**

 **Well.. If I subtract the overtime I'm putting in at work, along with the three days that I was sick last weekend.. yea, I guess that's why.**

 **Anyways, the next stop will be Mount moon. Will Ash have another Rocket encounter. WIll Brock dedide to travel with him? Will he meet a Clefairy?**

 **I'll give you a hint.. only two of these have a yes answer**

 **Stay tuned!**

 **Reviews appreciated, Flames will be given to my Houndoom for a snack**


	5. Chapter 5: Moonlight Madness

**OK, so I'm back. WOOT!**

 **It has been waaaaayyyyy too long! I'll explain at the end of the chapter kinda what been going on**

 **Let's see where were we?.. oh yea, mount moon!**

 **Will Ash see a Clefairy? Will something catch his eye? Or will something catch him?!**

 **Lets read and find out**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!**

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

*RING RING PHONECALL PHONECALL RING RING PHONECALL PHONECAL RING- CLICK!*

"Hello? This is Brock"

 _"Brock, this is Officer Jenny from the Pewter City Police Department."_

Upon seeing the lady cop, a bright blush instantly made its way to the young Gym Leader's face, "Well hello Jenny.. are you finally taking me up on that offer for dinner-"

 _"Can it, Casanova.."_ the woman said with a glare, _"we have a situation."_

"Huh?" He responded, putting on a serious face, "what is it? Did something happen?"

 _"Yes, actually. As you know, we've had scouts in the area for the past few days tracking down and looking for leads or anything that would lead us to those rockets that escaped during the Museum heist."_

Brock nodded, "Yeah.. and what? Did one of them actually find something?"

 _"As a matter of fact they did! A scout just returned saying that they managed to pick up pieces of a suspicious conversation through use of his Zubat and laptop. Of course, he called it in right away, but by the time a unit got out there, the area was clear."_ The woman explained, _"we've been deciphering the conversation and found some very interesting and worrisome information.."_

"Really?" Brock asked as he moved closer to the screen, "what did you hear?"

 _"The parts we managed to make out say, 'Fail... g- leader.. fossils..cowards...Emmers..."_

"Emmers?"

 _"One of the grunts we apprehended was named Emmerson."_

"Ah.." the Leader replied, "Continue"

 _"Anyways.. it goes on with a lot of yelling, and then something about a second chance. But here's the kicker, the last part we managed to make out was referring to the moon."_

"The Moon?"

The officer nodded, _"Yes, the moon. We're not sure if they're referring to the actual moon or to Mt. Moon, but we don't want to take any chances,"_ she explained, " _which is why I'm calling you. You know Mt. Moon better than anyone. We're going to need your help for navigating while inside."_

At her request, Brock nodded. Mt. Moon was a huge maze of tunnels and levels, made from years of constant digging by the resident Pokemon that made the place home. As a result, it was very, very easy to get lost if you strayed from the main path at all.

He would know, as he remembered getting lost multiple times in that dark, dank place. And he had literally lost count of how many times he's had to pull out and rescue trainers that got lost to the point of near starvation and death... yeah, not good times.

The funny thing was, that most of those trainers had the same reason for going off the main path.. looking for those Arceus damned Clefairy. The thought made Brock chuckle and groan at the same time. What's the point of chasing a legend? Maybe he should take that display down at the Museum...

That's when it hit him.. trainers.. Museum.. Mt Moon...

..Oh no..

"I-I'll be ready as soon as possible, Officer!" the rock trainer said with a surprising amount of urgency in his voice, "when do we leave out?"

 _"As soon as we have a squad together,"_ she responded, " _it took us a little over a day to decipher what he have from that recording, so we're already way behind, and need to make up ground. And there's also a chance that those three grunts would've gotten back-up by now, so we need to be prepared for anything."_

"Right," Brock said with a nod, which Jenny returned

 _"Right, meet me in front of the police station in twenty minutes. We'll move out then."_

"Got it. See you then."

That said, the connection ended.

Brock sighed and looked down with a deep frown, deep in thought, "Ash... I hope you're ok.."

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"Woah.."

That was all Ash could utter as he looked on in awe at the majestic and mysterious landmark known as Mt. Moon. Seeing it up close, the boy could definitely see how the mountain earned its reputation. It was huge! Supposedly big enough to separate eastern and western Kanto. How was he supposed to make his way through that?!

"Well," the young telepath said to himself before stealing his resolve, "this mountain is considered the first true test for beginning trainers for a reason! And if thousands of other trainers have made their way through, then so can I!" he said with a smile as he clenched his fist, 'and hopefully, I'll find my myself a new friend and team member while inside.'

With that dose of self-encouragement, the young trainer made his first few steps towards Mt. Moon..

"GAAAHHHH!"

Only to be stopped in his tracks by a scream, "what the.."

Upon following the sounds, Ash saw something that was both worrisome and humorous at the same time. A man.. a researcher going by the lab coat he was wearing.. being chased around a clearing by a bunch of Zubat.

Wait a minute.. what are Zubat doing outside during the day? .. Oh well, now is not the time for that..

"Skye, come on out!" Ash yelled as he called his bug type, "help me get those Zubat's attention!"

"Free Free!" ("Right Away!") The Butterfree chirped excitedly as it appeared, before using her Confusion attack on the Zubat, forcing them to stop mid-flight as well as diverting their attention from the man to the young trainer and his Pokemon.

"Hey Zubat!" Ash called out to the blue poison types, "come over here a sec, I wanna talk to you!"

After staring at the boy and his Pokemon for a moment, with a collective shrug, the Bat Pokemob flew over to him, leaving the man, who had cowered into a tight ball, alone.

"Can one of you tell me what's going on? And why you guys are out here during the day" he asked him as he turned an eye to the man to make sure he wasn't listening, "and don't worry, I can understand Pokemon."

 _"Men in black ruin homes!"_ One Zubat shouted

" _Put up Lights and remove our darkness!"_

 _"Dark makes us happy and comfortable"_

 _"No more dark, no more home!"_

"Men in black, you say?" Ash asked as he put a hand to his chin. He had an idea of who was in the cave, but he needed more info, "How many men?"

 _"Lots!"_

 _"Dozens!"_

 _"Snakes and gas everywhere!"_

 _"Rats too!"_

 _"Toxic! can't breathe!"_

 _"Snakes eat us!"_

Ash nodded as they threw clue after clue at him. Although it wasn't much to go, it told him that whoever was in the cave was putting up lights and possibly using poison types to attack or drive off the Pokemon inside. But why?

"Ok, then why did you attack that guy?" he asked as he pointed towards the shaky scientist, who was just starting to regain his wits, "He's not dressed in black."

 _"Saw him snooping around"_ A Zubat answered

 _"Yes, lots of snooping, everywhere!"_

 _"Sneaky Snooper!"_

Tilting his head in slight confusion, Ash looked over at the man and concentrated slightly...

'Arceus damned rats with wings! Come on now, pull yourself together! You have an assignment! ..Or else...'

Other than the hard language that made the boy flinch, the man's thoughts really didn't give him any clues as to if the man was good or evil. An assignment could mean anything. And what did he mean by 'or else'...

As the man recovered, Ash nodded in thanks to the Zubat, before stepping forward towards the man, his Butterfree right behind him, "excuse me sir, are you ok?"

Upon hearing Ash's voice, the man turned towards him and immediately regained his senses, 'Oh great.. another trainer.. doesn't look that strong..at least he got rid of those Zubat.. actually, I can work with that.' the man mused inwardly before jumping up and enthusiastically hugging the boy.

"Oh thank you! Thank you Thank you SOOOO much! I thought those Zubat were gonna eat me for lunch, but you saved the day!" The man said excitedly as he continued to tightly hug Ash the entire time, until Skye finally had enough of it and used a weak Confusion to separate the two.

"Woah.." the man said as he adjusted his glasses on his head, "That was Confusion, right? not bad! They say that a man's best friend is his Pokemon, and looking at you two, I believe it!"

"Uhhh.. yeah.." Ash responded with an uneasy chuckle. The mix of thoughts and emotions he was getting from the man confused him. he knew than some of them were fake, which put him on edge, but they were also so jumbled that he couldn't tell what from what.. not yet anyway. He tried to get a clearer picture during that hug, but the man's heavy lab coat and yelling distracted him.

"It was nothing, Mr..."

"Seymour!" the man said 'proudly,' "I am Seymour the Scientist! No Mr required, please!" he said as he held his head high in the air.

Even though it was possibly an act, Ash couldn't help but chuckle at the man's outward enthusiasm. If it was an act, the man was pretty good.

"Nice to meet ya, Seymour!" the young psychic responded with the same amount of enthusiasm as he held out his hand to shake.

Unfortunately, the man didn't bite.. cause next thing Ash knew, Seymour was kneeled down in front of him in an almost prayer stance

"But please! You must help me!" the man said with 'sadness' and 'worry' in his voice, "Evil men are taking over the mountain and upsetting the Ecosystem! You have to help me stop them! You're a strong trainer, right?"

"Uhh.. well.." Ash hesitantly uttered as he backed up and looked over the man, once again confused. Part of those emotions felt real, as if the man wanted to save the famous mountain and its inhabitants. But then again, other parts of the man's thoughts felt fake and rehearsed.

It didn't help that during all this, the man's thoughts were opposing each other as well, 'come on.. follow me.. or better yet, don't follow me! Run far far away and get help! But no! Don't run! If you do that, then they'll just.. grrrr..'

Oh yeah, definitely confusing, and just not right...

'I need contact..' Ash thought, before looking down at the man's praying hands and inwardly smirked before grabbing ahold of both of them.

"Don't worry Seymour! I'll help! I may have just started as a trainer, but I have some tricks up my sleeves," he said with a bright smile, 'like this one..' he thought to himself as he was brought deeper into Seymour's mind.. scary place as it was.

Still, despite the chaos and potential mind scarring, he was able to get a clearer picture of what was going on..

Seymour WAS a legitimate scientist that focused his studies on Mt. Moon, its structures, and its natural inhabitants. He also had a strange, lifelong dream of finding the Clefairy that are said to live here and going to the moon...

That was.. until men in black..Team Rocket more than likely, invaded the mountain with their own ill intentions. They set up lights, upset hundreds of Pokemon, and.. was that a drill? And pokemon that weren't driven out were captured in cages and shipped off to their headquarters.

The whole situation made Ash's blood boil, but he had to keep that buried for now.

How was Seymour involved? Simple.. The man was weak, unarmed, and very knowledgeable about the mountain. Easy prey for lowlifes like Team Rocket to ..'persuade' into helping them and doing their dirty work. Right now, his job was to either scare trainers away from Mt. Moon or lead them right into a Team Rocket trap. How lovely..

"You will?!" the scientist said with false excitement, unaware of his thoughts and memories being picked apart piece by piece, "Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" he yelled as he suddenly started sprinting towards the mountain with Ash and Skye in tow, "right this way! we haven't a moment to lose!"

Within moments, they were inside, with Ash still holding onto Seymour's increasingly sweaty hands as the man practically dragged him through the tunnels.

As they got deeper inside, the scenes he saw almost broke his heart. The pokemon were suffering. Either mourning the loss of a loved one to evil hands, or sweltering under the increased heat and light from all the lamps that were up, no pokemon was spared. Parases were planting mushrooms like crazy, Sandshrews were either passed out or halfway buried in the ground, and Zubats were either flying around confused or in an exhausted heap on the ground.

Seeing all this made it hard for Ash to keep his emotions in check. All he wanted to do now was send Team Rocket packing the hard way, Seymour included for giving in so easily, 'cowardly wimp'.

That's when he felt it.. a flash of doubt, deceit, and regret within his so called escort's mind. Then, a continuously growing feeling of ill and malicious intent a ways up ahead of them.

The combination of these two signs made Ash stop in his tracks, causing Seymour to almost fall on his butt.

"Wha-hey! What's the big deal?" the man asked the young trainer, who was now glaring him down with a look of pure contempt.

Imagine his surprise when he saw his latest potential captive glaring at him, "Sorry, Seymour, but I'm not fallin' for it. Right, Skye?" he asked with a small smirk as he looked over to his Butterfree who nodded and immediately started to gently flap her wings, releasing a light blue, sparkly powder over the would-be researcher.

"Hey! What's...going..." that was as far as the man got before he slumped to the ground, asleep.

After checking to make sure that the man was indeed out, Ash nodded," Ok, hopefully he'll be down for a while. Let's go and see if we can find and stop those Rockets," he whispered before standing up and slowly moving forwards through the lighted cave system.

After a few minutes of near silence, Ash and Skye finally came to a place where the tunnel opened up into a larger room. From around the corner where they were peaking, the boy and Pokemon saw and heard several things: more lights, obviously; several pieces of expensive, high tech equipment; what sounded like a piece of heavy machinery being turned on and off, the voices of several people; and, what made his blood boil the most, the sounds of several different kinds of distressed pokemon. But he didn't just hear their grunts and bleeps of native tongue, oh no.. he heard what they were saying loud and clear, crying, begging for help.

 _"Let us go!"_

 _"Evil humans!"_

 _"Memma!"_

Just hearing them made his heart hurt and his teeth clench...

"Shut up, you worthless creatures! Or i'll assure you that your trip to base will be neither pleasant nor painless!" came the voice of a human.. a somewhat familiar voice now that he thought about it..

'Where have I heard that voice before, ' Ash thought to himself as he surveyed the scene, wincing slightly as he forced his mind not to wander out. As tempting as it was, he didn't need a headache now..

 _'Ahem, If I am not mistaken...'_ came a familiar, welcomed voice in his head, _'I believe these are the same Rocket morons from the Pewter Museum..'_

That insight and revelation caused Ash to let out a silent gasp, 'you're right, Sage..' he said mentally as he started to glare at the room's inhabitants, 'these are the same creeps!'

At that thought, said Abra popped her head out of his bag _, 'Yes, and I have a bone to pick with that Tentacruel creep..'_ she said with a grumble before expanding her limited psych, _'huh..there are other trainers here too..'_

'There are? Where?' Ash asked her, curiously

 _'They're huddled in a back corner, tied and gagged. I can't tell how many..'_ she informed before looking down at him, _'open up your mind more, you might be able to read them or the Rockets and gather more info.'_

'I can't do that..' Ash mentally grimaced, 'there are too many minds here, i'll get a killer headache. It's taking all of my self-control to not let go and do just that..' he explained as he winced again. With the amount of living beings in the small space they were next to, he was surprised he didn't have a headache already. If he let his mind go, no doubt the following headache would put him out of commission, at least for a while..

"Hmm.. that does pose a problem.." his Abra said contemplatively, before snapping her stubby fingers, "I know! Maybe I can help you! I can help keep your mind centered and concentrated enough so your ESP power wont spread all over the room at once!"

'You can?' Ash thought to her in surprise, before looking at her in concern, 'but wont that be tiring for you as well?'

In response, Sage just shrugged, 'maybe, maybe not. Can't say for sure.. though judging on my theory of what may happen, I believe that the worst side effect will be a mild headache for you and some slight fatigue for me.'

Upon hearing her explanation, Ash could only nod. It was worth a shot.. and if they succeeded, not only would they have more knowledge about the current situation, but they would also have a very useful strategy for gathering information in the future.

'Alright, let's do it!' the young trainer thought with a nod and a smirk.

With that confirmation, Sage placed a hand on her trainer's shoulder and concentrated. At the same time, Ash slowly but surely allowed his mind to expand outward..

 _'Woah!'_ The young Abra internally yelped

'What?! What is it?' Ash asked, concerned

 _'N-nothing.. I just.. really underestimated how strong your abilities were.. no wonder you have so much trouble with control..'_ she explained as a drop of sweat formed on her head, _'this will be tougher than I originally expected.'_

'Will your idea still work though?'

 _'Should.. will be harder..but not impossible. Just do what you need to do and I'll guide you the best way I can.'_

'Well..ok..' the young telepath said with obvious uncertainty in his voice. This last thing he wanted to do was accidentally hurt his starter and friend. But desperate times call for desperate measures. With that in mind, Ash once again slowly let his mind's influence spread.

As he concentrated and allowed his psych to touch the many minds in the room, he felt Sage's influence bring his power back to just focus on one and two at a time.

First was the Rockets. From what he could tell from his mind and his hiding spot, there were at least seven to twelve of them, with three of them being vaguely familiar, 'Yup..same ones from Pewter..' From what he could gather, this was their last chance to impress their boss. Capture the pokemon and some moonstones to get on his good side..riiight...

Next were the trainers that his Abra had alerted him to. There were at least five of them tied up, and possibly gagged. Their minds ranged from tired and exhausted, to blind panic, to having a sense of hopelessness. Still...

'One of those trainers feels really familiar to me.. could it be-'

 _'Ash! Hurry up!'_ Sage warned him, the strain in her voice evident.

'R-right..' he said before moving onto the panicking Pokemon in the cages. There were dozens of minds here.. way too many..

"Gah!" Ash quietly yelped as he stumbled backwards, holding his head as a sharp, stabbing pain pounds through it. Through blurry eyes, he could see Sage on the ground next to him, panting and holding her head as well, "You ok?" he asked her in a whisper

 _"Yea.. but let's not do that again for a while.."_ she responded as she sat up

'agreed..'

That's when they heard footsteps coming their way, 'Uh oh..' they thought simultaneously as Ash grabbed his starter and held her close, frantically looking around for a place to hide.

 _"Psst! Over here!"_ a little voice called out, gaining their attention.

..Just as a rocket grunt came around the corner.

"what the.." the grunt murmured as he looked around, only to see the same thing he had been seeing for the past couple days.. rocks.

With a rough grunt, the Rocket went back to the room with the others, "I've been in here too long, I'm hearing things now.."

Meanwhile, in a small crevice that anyone would've easily missed, sat a young boy, an Abra, and their unexpected but welcomed savior

"Phew, that was close.." Ash said as he looked down at the one that helped them, "thanks for helping us back there.."

" _No problem! I can tell you're nice people!"_ The little pokemon said, _"Oh! are you trying to free the others from the bad men?! I wanna help! Let me help! Please!"_ it said excitedly, hopping up and down in front of them.

"hmm.. I don't know.." Ash said uncertainly

 _"We could use the assistance though.. she obviously knows these caves better than we do.."_ Sage said

'Are you sure? She seems kinda young..' the boy asked telepathically with a raised eyebrow

'True.. but I don't think we have much of a choice in the matter considering our situation..' the Abra reminded him as she pointed out towards where the Rockets were working.

Seeing that she had a valid point, the trainer bit back a groan. He felt like he was bringing a baby to a fist fight. Still, like Sage said, if they wanted to get out of here and free the captured pokemon and trainers, they would need all the help they could get.

"Alright little one, you can help. Just stand still while I scan you and see what you can do, ok?" he said as he pulled out his Pokedex

"Ok!" the young pokemon said happily, excited that she would get to help her family.

 _ **Cleffa:**_ _ **the Star Shape Pokemon**_

 _Because of its unusual, star-like silhouette, people believe that it came here on a meteor._

Ash nodded at the information the Pokedex gave him, what little it was. He wouldn't be able to get any more info unless he captured the little girl, which was something he didn't really think was wise to do right now.

"So tell me, how can you help us? Do you know any moves?" he asked with a smile

 _"Uhh..."_ The little Cleffa hummed, " _my memma said that I have the best singing voice in the family! Almost every night I sing to the moon to help everyone sleep better!"_

Hearing this, Sage's ears twitched as she perked up and placed a claw on her chin _, "actually, that may come in handy, if used correctly."_

"I agree," Ash said with a nod and a smile, "anything else?"

 _"umm...OH!"_ the little Cleffa yipped, _"My sister once said that I'm a really good charmer! Does that help?"_

 _"Maybe.."_ Sage replied as Ash pushed a few more buttons on his Pokedex, "Charmer huh.."

*beep beep*

 _ **Charm-**_ _The user gazes at the target rather charmingly, making it less wary. The Target's attack is harshly lowered._

Ash nodded as he digested the new information, "That probably won't be as useful since it's a big group we're dealing with, but it may come in handy if you find yourself cornered." he said as he put the little machine away.

"Ok, now that we have a new friend, we need a plan. How are we going to take out a whole room of Rockets and their Pokemon?" Ash asked as he placed his hand on his chin in a thinking position, one that both Sage and Cleffa mimicked.

 _"Hmm...well..."_ Sage started, _"Since little Cleffa here knows sing, how about we combine that with something else, like Skye's Sleep Powder and Stun Spore."_

 _"Skye?"_ Cleffa asked curiously

"My Butterfree," Ash answered, "and that's actually not a bad idea. Just put em all to sleep," he said before frowning slightly, "but we'll need to be quick a precise. Both attacks have to hit all the rockets."

 _"Question..."_ little Cleffa said as she raised her stubby little arm, " _w-what about the good trainers you said were in there.. and the good pokemon.. they might fall asleep too."_

"Good question.." Ash nodded, "but I don't think we'll have to worry too much. It's just sleep powder and sing, so they won't get hurt from it."

 _"But we will have to be wary with Stun spore.. that may be.. uncomfortable.."_ Sage stated, to which the others nodded in agreement. While the effects are temporary, without treatment, the after effects of Stun Spore can leave a human sick and off their feet for days. In some severe cases, people were reduced to being completely immobile and bedridden until the toxins ran their course. Now, while they wouldn't worry about the rockets, obviously, they certainly didn't want that happening to any innocent trainers.

"We'll only use Stun spore if we have to, and only after Sleep Powder and Sing. That way, Skye can afford to be more careful with it," Ash explained, "it's mostly just to make sure the rockets and their Pokemon stay down for a while."

 _"Ok!"_ Cleffa exclaimed.

 _"Sounds like a plan.."_ Sage nodded

"After we confirm that they're all out, we'll work on setting all of the pokemon and trainers free."

 _"And waking them up if needed.."_

"Well..yeah.. but.. that shouldn't be too hard to do.." the boy said as he scratched his cheek awkwardly

Sage couldn't help but sweatdrop, _"..Maybe we should just get out of here and get more help.."_

"Did you hear something?" they heard a gruff voice call from outside their hiding spot. Immediately causing all three to freeze up.

"..nah, you're just hearing things. This mountain's getting to you," a second voice said

"Pfft, yeah you're right.. good thing we're getting out of here soon.. what are we gonna do with those trainers we captured?"

"Same thing we always do. They either join or die!"

With that, the voices went away, and Ash and Sage looked at each other

 _"..Nevermind..."_

"Come on," the young trainer said as he slowly moved towards the exit, "We're almost out of time. We need to act now."

 _"Right!"_ Both pokemon nodded with determined looks on their face.

It's show time..

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

*SCREECH!* *CLUNK!* "JAM!*

"Arceus Damnit!" a grunt shouted as the sounds the machinery in the cave only got louder, "Stupid Drill!"

"Just shut it off! We got more than enough of what we came for!" Another grunt yelled as he pointed to the boxes of precious stones and rocks that had been excavated already, ripped from the Mountain's depths with little care.

"FAIRY!" "SHREW!" "SECT SECT!"

"SHUT UP YOU MORONIC PESTS!" a grunt yelled as he slammed an electric charged stick along the metal cages, causing the pokemon trapped inside to shrink back in fear. Ekans, Arboks, and other Rocket Pokemon guarded them around the clock. If they even tried to attack..

Meanwhile, in the corner, the group of captured and trapped trainers could only watch all of this with fear, anger, and hopelessness building in their hearts. They wanted nothing more than to run right through Team Rocket, get their Pokemon back, and deliver some rightful justice.

Some of them had been there for days, and were exhausted. Some had been beaten into submissions by the Rockets, and were sporting various injuries for their efforts.

They had already received the 'join us' speech several times over, and some, in their grief, was starting to consider it. At the moment, it seemed like the best and only option...

"let's see.." a grunt with a tablet said to himself, "24 Clefairy, 40 Sandshrew, 56 Paras and Parasect, 100 plus Zubat and Golbat, 30..."

He trailed off as strange, soft singing could suddenly be heard throughout the cave..

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around curiously- some even frantically- for the source of the beautiful voice.

"where is that coming from?"

"The Clefairy?"

"Impossible! They're too scared to... *yawn* attack.."

Soon, everyone started to feel the true effects of the Sing as their eyes started to droop and their legs started to wobble.

"SssStay strong men! Stay alert!" One of the grunts, the Leader in Pewter, urged his team, "Call your Pokemon out quick!"

Meanwhile, the Clefairy in the cages adapted expressions of shock. Was that... their little Lullaby singer?

 _"It has to be her.."_

 _"No one else can sing like that.."_

The song was familiar to them too..

 _"Sleep all my sisters, good night family mine,_

 _Rest Now in Moonlight's embrace..._

 _Bear up my lullaby, winds of the earth,_

 _through cloud, and through sky and through space..._

 _Carry the peace and the coolness of night,_

 _and carry my love song in kind..._

 _May Cresselia bless us with sound sleep tonight_

 _may troubles be far from out mind..."_

The captured trainers heard it as well, and couldn't help but be entranced by the beautiful melody. Soon, they were all fast asleep.

It was then at that point that a Butterfree 'randomly flew into the large cavern, undeterred by the dozens of rockets and poison types that were trying their best to resist the songs effects.

"..what the..." a nearly zombified Rocket said as he noticed the bug type

"Up...up there.." another pointed out, "R-raticate *yawn..* use.."

He didn't get a chance to finish as the Butterfree began to flap its wings even faster as it flew around the cave, releasing a sparkling, blue powder all over the Rockets and their pokemon.

"Oh shhhhhh..." That was as far as the grunt got before falling asleep on the ground.

Once all of the Rockets were out, Ash , Sage, and Cleffa came from around the corner, "nice job Skye! Now use a light Stun Spore on the Rockets and their Pokemon, and make sure it doesn't spread too far."

 _"Right!"_ The happy bug type nodded before getting to work.

"Ok..Sage, Cleffa, see what you guys can do about getting those cage open. I'm gonna go check on the trainers." Ash ordered as he moved towards the other end of the room

"Right!" Sage nodded before grabbing Cleffa and teleporting over to the caged Pokemon.

As Ash looked over the sleeping trainers, he saw that many over them had definitely been through an ordeal. Most of them were sporting some kind of injury, anywhere from the benign black eye to the more serious broken bone.

But what Ash was focused on was the fact that he knew one of the captured trainers, and his heart almost stopped

"..Gary?"

He saw that the boy, his only true friend from his childhood of hell, was currently slumped over against the back wall from the effects of the sing. He had a large bruise on the left side of his jaw and a trail of old blood at the corner of his mouth. Obviously his friend had put up a fight.

"It's alright Gary.." Ash said as he hurried to untie him along with the others, "we're gonna get you outta here.."

 _"GAHAHHH!"_

The screech of his friend made Ash stop what he was doing and spin around, only to watch in horror and confusion as Skye was somehow sent careening into the opposite cavern wall, her little body sparking with electricity.

"What the- SKYE!" The young telepath yelled as he attempted to get to his downed Pokemon, only to be stopped as another arch of electricity landed in front of him.

It was then that he heard slow clapping coming from another part of the room. From a dark, almost invisible tunnel stepped another man, dressed in a white uniform and lab coat with the Red R embroidered on the front of it. He had long, disheveled, dark gray hair and sharp looking glasses over his eyes. Behind him was a yellow humanoid pokemon that Ash recognized as an Electabuzz, which glared at him menacingly as its antennae sparked dangerously.

"Not bad, kid.." he said with a small smirk as he looked around the room, "not bad at all.. you certainly made quick work of my team here.." he then snorted, "only goes to show how truly incompetent they all were. Don't know why the boss bothered to give them another chance.."

"Who are you?" Ash asked as he observed the man and his Pokemon. Both of them looked powerful, and dangerous, if what they did to Skye was anything to go by..

"My name is of no importance..But you can call me.. the Scientist," the man said as a frown made its way to his face, "what you should be worried about is what's going to happen to you now. I very well can't let you go without being properly punished for your interference."

As the man spoke of what he was going to do to him, Ash was mentally speaking with his starter, 'Sage, are you alright?'

 _'Just fine..'_

'Great. Listen, you have to work faster on those cages. The trainers are in no condition to fight, but the cave Pokemon are. If we release them, we may have a fighting chance here..'

 _'Cleffa and I are working on it, but these cages aren't exactly made of straw. And the lock isn't budging._ '

'..what kind of lock is it?'

 _'Looks like a deadbolt, attack proof.'_

'Then one of the grunts may have a key. See if you can find it. Be discreet about it, and I'll try to distract this guy'

"Are you even listening to me, you little brat?" The head Rocket now know as the Scientist said, "here I am describing all of the wonderful things I'm going to do to you, and you're staring at your shoes."

"My apologies, the ground just looks very interesting right now.." he said as he put a little fear into his voice. He wasn't the best actor, but it helped that he was actually genuinely scared. If not for himself, then for his Pokemon and Gary. He silently prayed that the man wouldn't catch on to what he and his pokemon were doing.

" HAH! Really now.." the man as he barked out a laugh.

"Yeah.." the young telepath said, before taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, "much better than looking at your ugly face!" he yelled. Now, usually Ash wouldn't be so bold and abrasive, especially with someone that could snap him in two, like the man in front of him. But this was for good reasons. If the man was angry, he hopefully wouldn't notice the subtle movements going on behind them.

Right now, Sage and Cleffa were slowly and carefully sifting through the uniforms of the knocked out Rockets, looking for the keys to the cage that held all of the trapped Mt. Moon pokemon. The more he had the man focused on him, the better.

"What?!" The man yelled, "Why you little runt! Think you can mouth off to me and get away with it?!" he said angrily as a scowl formed on his face.

'Found it!' Sage's voice said in his head.

'Great Job, now get over there and help them!'

"Electabuzz, Thunderbolt!" The man yelled, causing the electric type to growl and rotate its arms rapidly, building up power. Within seconds, it released a huge beam of energy right at Ash.. at first.. but then the attack suddenly steered right...

... and hit a different target..

"ABRA!"

"CLEFFA!"

"SAGE! CLEFFA! NOOO!" Ash yelled as he quickly turned around. He could only watch, horrified as his starter and newest friend were sent careening into the back wall of the cavern.

It was all silent, before the Scientist suddenly broke into a fit of laughter, "HAHAHAHA! Clever boy, very clever. You were trying to distract me while your friends worked in the background. Unfortunately for you, I had a second pair of sharper eyes in my friend here, " he said as he pointed to the still sparking Electric Pokemon.

For a moment, Ash said nothing.. he could only stare at his friends..

.. a couple of the very few friend he had in this world..

..lying there hurt and in pain...

"..Sage..." he whispered as he thought back to when he and the smart but surly little Abra first met. How they found each other after both being alone for so long...

"..Skye.." His beautiful brave Butterfree who was willing to give her life, even as a humble Metapod, to save him...

"..Cleffa.." His newest friend that, even though they had just met moments ago, he already felt a connection to, because of her bravery and strength even in one so young..

..and now...

"And I guarantee that you will meet a similar fate if you continue to resist," The so called Scientist uttered with a smirk on his face, "Now be a good little boy and.. hmm?"

He stopped when he noticed the boy clenching his fists so tightly that he thought he would cut through his gloves. Then, his whole body started shaking, lightly yet uncontrollably.

"Humph! Angry are we?" The Rocket Exec snorted, "Well that won't help you now, so... huh?!"

He stopped again when he saw Ash's entire body light up with a faint blue glow..

That's when Ash slowly turned toward him, and he thought his heart was going to stop. The boy's eyes were glowing bright blue! And if looked could kill... well he would be way more than 6 feet under the mountain by now..

"You hurt my friends.." the boy say in a low, deceptively even voice, "my starter.. hundreds of innocent Pokemon and trainers.. but your biggest mistake.." he said as an almost evil smirk made it to his normally childish face, "was pissing me off.."

The evil scientist could only look on in a mixture of shock and fear as the boy slowly started to approach him. What was this power? Was the child a psychic? Or some kind of monster in disguise? Best not to take chances..

"E-Electabuzz, Thunderbolt that freakish brat!" The man shouted, a slight stutter making its way through as the Rocket Exec gave his order. The Electric Pokemon immediately complied as its body sparked dangerously before shooting a large arch of thunder at the boy in front of him.

The young psychic merely regarded the attack with a huff before stepping to the side, allowing the electricity to pass him and hit the sleeping and, in some cases, twitching, Rocket grunts on the floor.

"W-What?!" The man exclaimed in shock, only to see that that boy was now coming towards him at an accelerated pace, "Electabuzz, what are you waiting for?! Shut that kid down! Thunderbolt!"

The Electric type nodded before sending another volley of lightning toward the incoming human..

.. who once again merely dodged the attack and kept coming!

"What the..! Electabuzz, use Fire Punch on that little creep!" the man yelled, almost depserately. Electabuzz once again complied as he leapt forward, fist ablaze.

During this whole time, Ash was in his own world. Every conscious, present mind was now an open book to him. Every thought, every feeling, every intention was crystal clear. 'I haven't felt this.. in years..' he thought to himself as he dashed forward. The feeling was.. intoxicating.. His mind was on overdrive, on a high that he never wanted to come down from. And the best part, no annoying headache!

With his heightened abilities, he was able to sense the man's every thought, along with every move he and Electabuzz were going to make before it was made. With this newfound ability, he easily dodged the incoming FirePunch, weaving around the large and, in his opinion, somewhat clumsy electric type, and smacking it in the back of the head, before running straight for the corrupted Executive.

"Oh no you don't!" The man said as he pulled something out from the inside of his jacket: a large barreled gun that seemingly fired non-lethal pellets with enough force to cripple grown man. Usually such weapons were extremely exclusive, though not illegal to have like their more lethal cousins. Such is the perk of being an executive.

Without hesitation, the man shot two pellets at the 10-year-old's head, aiming to knock him out, possibly permanently.

But Ash saw the pellets coming, knew what their trajectory would be, and managed to duck underneath the flying ammo at the last second, leaving the man in shock.

"Wh-what?! I-Impossible!" he yelled as he prepared to fire again. Unfortunately for him, that small moment of stupified shock was all Ash needed to get close enough to deliver a wicked haymaker followed by a rage-charged uppercut.

Now, Ash was typically not a fighter, and would never be one to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary. But in this situation, in which his friends were possibly critically hurt right in front of his eyes...

..yeah, no more Mr. Nice Guy.

The executive could say nothing as he was sent sprawling to the ground, still conscious, but definitely thrown for a loop, his glasses sent clamoring to the ground next to him. As he struggled to stand, Ash's power chose that moment the fade, the blue that surround him and flooded his eyes slowly but surely ebbing away, leaving the boy dazed and wobbly.

It was then that Electabuzz chose to make itself known again after recovering from Ash's backhanded attack..

"EYYAHHHH!" Was all that could be heard as Ash was struck by a powerful Thunderbolt, sending him forward and onto his hands and knee.

Seeing this through slight double vision, the Executive chuckled, "good work.. took you long enough..to hit that little pest.." he said with a smirk as he struggled to stand, only to fall to one knee from the effects of a dizzy spell, "still.. he packed one hell of a punch.. and what was that power he had.." he mumbled in thought before shrugging, "all well.. either way, he's more trouble than he's worth."

Picking up his bent glasses, the Scientist nodded to Electbuzz, "Alright, do us all a favor and fry that bat with your best. Thunder!"

The Pokemon nodded, uncaring of the life in front of him that he was about to snuff out, and began twirling his arms as he built up power, sending sparks everywhere as he launched his attack-

"Rhydon! Intercept and use Drill Run!" A new, yet familiar voice called out

Upon command, a huge rock rhino came charging from the darkness and intercepted the thunder attack, its Lightning Rod ability being put to good use. Then, without missing a beat, charged towards the enemy Electabuzz with this drill-like horn spinning rapidly.

"Electabuzz, Brick Break!" The Scientist called out desperately. They were so close! This mission had to be successful! If not... he didn't want to think about it...

Both Pokemon charged towards each other at full speed, ignoring whatever stood in between them, which included the sleeping bodies of Rocket grunts that were either casually stepped on or blasted out of the way.

Shining horn met glowing fist as the Pokemon's attack's landed, causing a miniature shockwave to blast through the cavern. On the sidelines, Ash could only watch in shock as the two powerful pokemon tried to best each other and struggle for dominance. What also shocked him was the voice of Rhyhorn's trainer, which sounded oddly familiar.

Then, from the shadows of the adjacent tunnel that he originally came in from, stood a tall figure with spiky hair and slanted eyes, with several other figures right behind him.

"Brock!" Ash said excitedly, happy to see a familiar face. The teenage gym leader smiled and nodded back to him, before turning back to the situation with a serious look on his face, "Rhydon, combine with Hammer Arm!"

With a deep grunt, the rock type's huge fist started to glow before it lunged forward, striking the offensive Electibuzz square in the gut, dealing a critical hit.

"Grrr! I cannot LOSE!" The Rocket Exec shouted angrily as his pokemon was blown back, "Electabuzz, get back in there with Screech! then Brick Break!"

As the electric type stood up on shaky legs, it took a deep breath before letting out an ear-splitting high-pitched sound that reverberated through the cavern walls, strong enough to cause some of the smaller stalactites to fall from the cavern's ceiling.

Ash let out a scream as he desperately held his hands over his ears, desperately trying to block out the sounds of Electabuzz's echoing screech. Brock and the officers with him were no better, as the noise had brought some of them to their knees.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it had an entirely different effect on Rhydon..

The pain of the noise bouncing around in its head, combined with the disorientation that comes hand in hand with even a normal screech, one that wasn't amplified by cavern walls, caused it to slip into an uncontrollable rage!

As Electabuzz ended his attack, Rhydon let out a roar of unbridled anger as he turned red eyes on the enemy electric type. Needless to say, if Electabuzz was wearing pants, they would've been very wet at that moment.

"Ah! Electabuzz, get out of there!" The evil man yelled to his pokemon, who could only stand there, frozen in fear as Rhydon charged him. Within seconds, the normally slow rock type had closed the distance between it and Electabuzz and used a full power Drill Run right into its solar plexis. The electric type couldn't even scream as the wind was knocked out of him and its internal organ got seemingly rearranged. It was unconscious before it hit the ground.

"Gah! You stupid..GRAH!" The Rocket said in rage as he recalled his electric type, before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, "No matter.." he said softly, before an almost maniacal chuckle escaped his lips, "I always have a back-up plan.." he said as he reached for a second pokeball.

"Oh no you don't !" was all the man heard before he was tackled from behind and sent forward, almost face-faulting into the cavern floor. It only took him a second the realize that it was that psychic brat from earlier, trying his best with his much lighter-weighted body to subdue him.

"Wh- Get off me you little freakish runt!"

Even though he couldn't help but wince at the jab, Ash refused to let the man up. He was too dangerous to let go free. Even as the evil man thrashed and kicked, he wouldn't let go!

That was when Brock and the others came over, with the Gym Leader giving the boy a pat on the back, "Ok Ash, we'll take it from here," he said with a deep chuckle that was shared by the rest of the crew. Something about an evil Rocket executive being literally taken down by a 10 year old was too damn funny.

As soon as the man was let up, he was immediately cuffed, "Mr. Scientist, or should I say Gaylord Cannon, you are hereby under arrest. Anything you say.."

Ash wasn't really paying attention to the rest of the officer's speech. He was too busy busting out laughing. So that explained why the guy wouldn't say his name.. He really wouldn't have taken him seriously if he had known that. Sage probably would've...

...He froze...

...HIS POKEMON!

"Sage! Skye!" the young telepath yelled as he sprinted across the cave, Ignoring the League officials that had started collecting the Rocket grunts. As soon as he saw them, his heart stopped..

Skye, Sage, and little Cleffa were all unconscious against the wall, badly hurt in some way or another. A League official that had found him looked up at Ash with a concerned frown on her face.

"Are these your Pokemon?" She asked him as he got closer and knelt down, tears brimming in his eyes as he looked over his teammates-no, his family, "T-Two of them are..th-the Cleffa is wild.." he stuttered as he reached out to lightly brush Sage's cheek. In response, the young Abra winced slightly before relaxing into his touch.

"I know it's hard, but we need to get them to a Pokemon Center right away or they won't- Oh!" The League woman stopped short as someone or something approached from behind him. Turning around, Ash was shocked to see, not just one or two, but what seemed like the entire populace of Clefairy and Clefable that lived within Mount Moon, led by a larger, and much older looking Clefable.

All of the League trainers and Officers, Brock included, looked on in awe at the group in front of them. There are people (Like Seymour) that search for the Clefairy all of their lives, yet never even see a glimpse of their existence. Now here, right in front of them, was an entire extended family of at least twenty of them.

Everyone looked on in silent awe as the elder Clefable stepped forward, stopping next to Ash as she looked on sadly at the battered and bruised pokemon, mostly, of one noticed, at the little Cleffa that now sported electrical burns all over her frail body.

The young trainer couldn't help but look at the elder as more tears came to his eyes, "I.. I'm sorry... sh-she wanted to help with her singing move and I... *sniffle* I'm so sorry I couldn't protect her!" he said as he bowed in forgiveness, his tears wetting the cave floor.

The Elder Clefable looked at the boy with sorrow in her eyes before placing a dainty hand on his head. When he looked up, Ash saw the old Pokemon nod to him with a sad smile, " _it is alright young one. Young Faye here is a spirited one. I assure you that she will be fine."_

Hearing the voice in his head, he nodded back in response, before asking softly, "her name is Faye?"

The Fairy type nodded before stepping forward toward the three burned and unconscious Pokemon, before lifting and hovering her hand over the group, watching as it turned a silvery white. Then, soothing waves of energy started slowly expanding over the three hurt pokemon, carrying with it a soothing chime-like sound that instant put the mind and the body at ease.

"Is that..." Ash whispered slowly as he watched the Clefable with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Yes, that's Heal Bell!" the League trainer answered, "It's a very advanced technique, I didn't even know Clefable could learn it!"

"I believe that they can under special conditions.." Brock stated as he walked over, "though it is very, very rare. This is the first time I've seen a wild Clefable that was able to do it."

As the humans conversed, The queen Fairy's magic was doing its work. Slowly but surely, the wounds on all three afflicted Pokemon faded away, leaving healthy, if not barely discolored, skin and fur. Shortly after, the magic light faded, taking its beautiful charm with it.

Seconds later, all three started to stir..

"Cleff..."

"Bra..."

"Free..?"

"...Guys!" Ash yelled out excitedly as he pulled them into a hug, "you're all ok!"

 _"Ack! Come on Ash, I can't breathe!"_ Sage yelled as she waved her arms around frantically. Hearing her panic, Ash immediately let go of them, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "uhh, woops.. heh..sorry guys, I'm just glad you're ok now."

 _"Ugh.. someone get the license plate number of that bus?"_ Skye groaned out as she rubbed her head.

Cleffa said nothing at first, just looking around the crowd of Fairy Pokemon from side to side.

"Hmm? Cleffa? You ok?" Ash asked, not using her actual name so not to draw curious glances from the other humans in the room

Again, Cleffa said nothing, until..

 _"MEMMA!"_ the little pokemon yelled with glee as she nearly sprinted over to one of the Clefairy, who picked her up and hugged the little star pokemon with all its might.

 _"Oh my little Faye, I was so worried about you!"_ The Clefairy, Faye's mother obviously, cried out _, "Don't you ever worry me like that again! You're supposed to be with the other young ones, safe and sound!"_

 _"I know memma.."_ Faye whimpered softly, _"but when you and the others didn't come back, I got scared! I looked and saw those men in black and knew something was wrong. Then I saw this nice human, "_ she pointed to Ash before continuing, _"and heard that he was gonna help! So I helped him with my singing. Wasn't it good?"_ the little Cleffa asked with a happy smile, obviously proud of her accomplishment.

The mother Clefairy and others that were listening, looked on at little Faye with a mixture of awe, pride, and, in some cases humor. This Cleffa was always a little more adventurous and curious than the average youngling. Independent and brave yet always loyal and loving to her family and friends. A little ray of sunshine in their moonlit world.

Mysteriously, the mother Clefairy nodded her head and looked to the Elder, who only smiled and nodded her head in return. Faye merely looked in between them with her head tilted, a look of confusion on her face.

Ash, who had been watching the entire exchange silently, also had a look of confusion on his face, wondering what the mom and the Elder were doing. Was something going to happen to little Faye? Would she be punished for getting involved? He hoped not.. she was the reason their plan was so successful.. the initial plan anyway.

He couldn't read their thoughts... something was blocking him, like a large wall of mysterious bright light. Was this an ability that the Clefairy had? To block out and protect their minds from Psychic influence? Or was this just all the Elder Clefable's doing? She did seem incredibly powerful, and had abilities that have never been seen before with normal wild Clefable.

Then again, what did they know. ...Humans barely knew anything about the moon loving Fairy types..

"Ash?" A familiar, yet very welcomed voice called out to him in what sounded like surprise.

Broken from his line of thought, the young esper quickly turned around, meeting face to face with his childhood friend.

"Gary!" Ash said excitedly as he got up, hugging the other boy in a bro-hug, which was quickly returned in a fit of laughter.

"Haha! Woah there, Ashy-boy! You act like you haven't seen me in years!" Gary chuckled as he smiled brightly at his shorter friend. Yes, Ash was shorter than Gary, but only by a few inches, just enough for the auburn tease him about it every so often.

"Well, can you blame me? You weren't exactly in the best situation," Ash said as his smile started to fade, "I was really worried that Team Rocket had hurt you... How did you get captured anyway?"

At his question, Gary just snorted as a deep frown appeared on his face , "bastards ambushed me while I was trying to make my way through the caves. I was wondering why there were lights up everywhere, when some crazy guy named Seymour told me that thieves were attacking the mountain and pretty much begged for me help.." he then let out a long sigh, "and..well you see where that got me.."

"Yeah, I met that guy too, "Ash explained, "he was threatened by Team Rocket into helping him. He really isn't all bad, just cowardly and a tad crazy..." he said as a deadpanned look made its way to his face at the thought of the eccentric scientist.

Gary merely nodded at the explanation, before smirking and thinking, 'Of course, you would know, with that little gift of yours.. Probably as able to figure out the whole issue real quick, huh?'

The young telepath couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he slightly nodded, then turned back to the Clefairies and Clefables, only to see three of them coming towards him.

It was Faye, her mother, and the Elder Clefable, the latter two having small, sad smiles on her faces. He still couldn't read their minds, but somehow, he didn't feel he needed to. Especially when the Cleffa hopped over to him on her stubby legs and jumped into his arms.

 _"Memma and Gram say I can come with you!"_ Faye said happily before adopting a look of panic _, "that's ok, right? Please say that's ok!"_

Ash just stared at her with large eyes for a few moments. A Cleffa, once of the rarest Pokemon in the world, one never seen in Mt Moon, and one that he had already made friends with, wants to come with him. And if her Sing attack was anything to go by, she would definitely be one tough little fairy when she grew up.

After getting over his moment of shock, Ash put a bright smile on his face, "O-of course you can come with me!" he said excitedly, though not loud enough to attract too much attention, "but.. why would you want to come with me? "

 _"Cuz! Your fun!"_ The little Cleffa explained, _"here I'm treated like a baby all the time! I want to go out exploring!_ " she said before a sad smile, not unlike her mother's, made its way to her pink face, _"I'll miss Memma and Gram.. but I don't want to stay here forever! I wanna go see everything!"_ she yelled, getting excited again, _"And you're nice! You can understand me, and you're other Pokemon are great too! I wanna join!"_

With a slow blink, Ash nodded, before looking towards the mother Clefairy and Elder Clefable, who had been watching the entire exchange. Both of them simultaneously smiled and nodded.

 _"This young one has always been a restless one. That, and through her brave act, she has proven herself ready to leave the nest. We believe she will be happier traveling outside of the mountain,"_ The Elder said in a soft voice.

 _"I agree.."_ the mother started, _"I love my daughter and will miss her dearly, but her destiny lies beyond the walls of Mt. Moon."_

Upon hearing the explanation, Ash smiled and nodded, before turning back to Gary, who had been joined by Brock in watching the conversation.

He looked at them both and flashed an awkward smile, "well guys.. uhh...meet my newest Pokemon?"

While Gary just laughed, not surprised at his unofficial brother's antics, Brock was just plain shocked, "really ? she wants to come with you? A pokemon from the Clefairy Line of Mt Moon?" His shock was understandable. After all, there have been no documented captures of the fairy type in or around the mysterious mountain. They were too rare, too smart, and too elusive to let themselves be captured.

But now...

"Well then.." Brock started, "this is certainly something for the record books.." he said with a smile, the frowned, "then again.. ifs its all the same with you , Ash, I'd rather not have this little event go public.."

Ash merely nodded in agreement. he didn't have to read Brock's mind to understand why the older teen would want that. If word got out that a Pokemon of the Clefairy line was captured in Mount Moon, the area would be put into a similar, if not worse, state than when the Rockets were here. Trainers from all over would flaunt to the mountain, tearing it apart rock by rock, thus wrecking the ecosystem, just for a change to capture a Clefairy or Clefable.

Not only that, but said trainers would only be putting themselves in danger from the natural hazards that Mt. moon is better known for. Stalactite stabbings, Zubat attacks, cave-ins, steep drops, just to name a few. There would probably be more trainer injuries than Pokemon ones, possibly even death...

No.. best to keep this secret..

"I understand, Brock," Ash responded with a nod, "You have my word that no one outside the three of us will know how I got Cleffa."

Brock merely smiled and nodded, "that's all I ask," he then turned towards Gary, "and you?"

"Of course! I promise not to tell as well," the boy said with a nod, "last thing I want is to get my little bro here in more trouble than he already gets himself into." he smirked, successfully getting a rise out of his raven-haired friend

"Ha ha! Very funny!" the young raven hair said with puffed up cheeks.

"Huh? You two are brothers?" Brock asked, slightly confused

"Yeah, by everything but blood," Ash explained as he held his newest pokemon, "I practically grew up with Gary and Professor Oak. They're the closest thing I have to family in this world," he said with a sad smile, remembering briefly how his father left, soon followed by his mother.

The Gym Leader merely nodded at the explanation with a small smile. watching the two ten-year olds react reminded him of his own family and his own relationship with his brother, Forrest. Speaking of which..

"Well, since it looks like things here are fine now, I gotta head back to Pewter, report what happened to Officer Jenny," he said as he looked around the room, which as now almost clear of Rockets.

"Uhh, why didn't she come along?" Ash asked curiously, to which Brock just shrugged, "she hasn't felt comfortable leaving the city since the last robbery attempt at the museum, so instead he just sent some of her best men instead"

To his explanation, the boys just shrugged, "makes sense.." Gary commented, 'not really..'

"I guess," Ash nodded in return, letting out a small snort at Gary's thought, "I guess we'll see you later then.. Oh, and Brock?"

"Yeah?"

The young trainer couldn't help but smirk here, "try not to flirt with Officer Jenny, she doesn't appreciate that."

"Yeah, you're probably righ- wait, what?! How did you-" the older teen sputtered, causing the boys to laugh at his expense.

It was then that Sage made herself known again by teleporting to Ash's shoulder, " _Ash, I hate to break up your little bro-chat, but can we get out of here? I don't want to stay in this creepy cave any longer,"_

'Ditto..'

"heh, well I guess that's Sage's way of telling me she wants to get out of here.." the young trainer said with a chuckle, "I guess it is getting late.. or early.." he then frowned, "what time is it, anyway?"

"Around midnight, if my watch is correct," Gary answered while looking down at his sport watch.

 _"Midnight?!"_ Cleffa suddenly spoke up, _"Wait a second, put me down!"_

As soon as Ash placed the little pink ball on the ground, she bounded over to her memma and the Elder, _"before I go, can we show them, pleaaasse! They deserve to see our ritual!"_

'Ritual?' Ash thought to himself, as the others looked on with similar expressions.

The mother looked down at her daughter before looking up at the Elder, _"What do you say, Gran-Memma?"_

The old Clefable looked down in thought for a moment, before nodded, _"I suppose she is right. For helping our clan, they do deserve to see our ritual."_

 _"YAAYYY!"_ Faye cheered before hopping back over to Ash and pulling on his pant-leg, " _come on! The dance will start soon!"_ she said before hopping away to join the other fairies.

"Huh? Hey wait up!" Ash called out as he ran after her, quickly followed by Gary and Brock.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

After running what seemed like an endless amount of countless tunnels and pitch black caverns, the boys finally made it to the final room, which left them all in silent awe.

The room was actually a huge cavern with no ceiling or roof, causing it to extend all the way to the top of Mt. Moon, causing it to look like a giant funnel.

"Woah.." Gary whispered, "this goes all the way to the top of Mt. Moon!"

"Yeah, and look at that!" Ash uttered as he pointed up, " the light from the full moon lights up the entire cavern!"

"And that's not all its doing...look at the Clefairy" Brock said as he watched the Clefairy excitedly dance around.. a boulder? ..No not a boulder!

"Th-That's a Moon stone!" the gym leader yelled in awe, "I recognize that signature!"

"What?!" "That huge rock?!" Gary and Ash yelled respectively

 _"Yup!"_ the bubbly little voice of Faye butted in, _"and now we pray to the great Moon Stone and thank it for protecting us and blessing us!"_

"Heh, really now," Ash whispered before relaying what the little Cleffa said to Gary, who lightly nodded with a smile.

 _"Moonstone, Moonstone, bless our night"_

 _"Bless us, Bathe us in your light"_

 _"Please Cresselia, here our prayers"_

 _"May the full moon witness bare"_

This was the pray they chanted over and over as the light of the full moon intensified, lighting up the whole cave.

"Cresselia?" Ash whispered as he translated the prayer to his brunette friend, who quietly answered,

"Lunar Pokemon from Sinnoh, a Legendary actually"

Their light conversation was cut off when the moonlight started to shine, causing the Moon stone to glow brightly, like a second sun.

Seconds later, the glowing faded, and what met the eyes of Ash and the others was amazing. Several of the Clefairy had successfully evolved into Clefable, including Faye's mother, or memma.

"Woah.." all three boys said at once, all amazed by the sight before them. Why wouldn't they be. This was probably something that no one had ever witnessed before or will ever witness again.

"Amazing.." Brock breathed out as the boys nodded in agreement.

As soon as the last of the bright light left the cavern, the Clefairy and Clefable broke into cheers, hopping and echoing their shouts of happiness through the cavern.

 _"YAY! Thank you Cresselia, Thank you MoonStone!"_ the Clefable shouted to the skies.

Ash could only smile at their happiness as he watched. His smile only widened when little Faye came bounding over and landed in his arms.

 _"YAY! This only happens once every thirteen moons, aren't we lucky?!"_

Her new trainer couldn't help but chuckle and nod, "yes we are.. very lucky" he whispered as he rubbed his cheek against hers. A sign of affection and thanks for all his newest pokemon had done for him so far, even before she was officially his. And this was just the beginning.

'If this is what we get from just one day with Faye, then I can't wait for more adventures' the young mind reader thought to himself.

 _'Well I can.._ ' responded the always opinionative Sage as she crossed her arms, _'especially those involving Team Rocket morons,'_

'Heh, now that, I definitely hear you on' he mentally responded.

Yes, hopefully this would be the last time they run into Team Rocket for a while. Of course, thinking about them had him thinking back what happened back at the original cavern.

'What was that, anyway? I've never had that happen before..'

 _'hmm?'_ Sage asked as she turned to him, _'what never happened before?'_

'Uhh, nothing.. don't worry about it,' he sent to her with a reassuring smile, one that she did not buy but let go for now. Going by today's events, they would have a long journey ahead of them, so it was best not to get distracted. And if the craziness that she and her trainer had already encountered was anything to go by, then she best not let her guard down.

 _'That tears it!_ ' the Little Abra thought to herself, _'from now on, I'm going to train and train hard. No one's going to get the upper hand on me or Ash again. That is my promise!'_

Right next to her, Ash couldn't help but smile. Sage has been through a lot in her short life, especially with Team Rocket and poachers. Looks like this and their previous experiences was just the motivation she needed. And she wasn't alone

'I'm right there with ya, Sage,' Ash thought with a smile, 'Don't worry, we'll both get stronger ..together..'

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

 **Ok so.. yeah, my apologies for not updating in so long. I am in the process of begging for more free time off but... those cries have not been answered yet.. so yeah..**

 **I can't make any promises except that i'll try to be a little faster next time.**

 **That and I'm trying to get my artwork back up and running.**

 **Oh and if you were curious, the lullaby that Faye the Cleffa was singing is based off a song called 'Lullaby for a Princess'. You can look it up on YouTube**

 **In other news. I am going to be working mostly on this story and my Rogue story for the moment. My ghost story will be restarted once I settle on a continuing plot line. it's not being discontinued so don't worry.**

 **Again sorry I have been away for so long.. Life just sucks... :/**


End file.
